Catenaa, Wednesday, November 19, 2025- The US trade deficit fell by nearly 24% in August as President Trump’s tariffs pushed imports lower, but trade could still subtract from economic growth in Q3.
The trade gap contracted 23.8% to $59.6 billion, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis and Census Bureau said on Wednesday.
Imports decreased 5.1% to $340.4 billion, while exports edged up 0.1% to $280.8 billion.
Still, the US trade deficit is up so far in 2025, coming in at $713.6 billion through August, up 25% from $571.1 billion in January-August 2024.
The report, which was initially scheduled for release on October 7, was delayed because of the recently ended 43-day shutdown of the government.
President Donald Trump’s protectionist trade policy, marked by sweeping tariffs, has caused big swings in imports and the trade deficit, distorting the overall economic picture.
The US Supreme Court early this month heard arguments on the legality of Trump’s import duties, with justices raising doubts about his authority to impose tariffs under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
Trade sliced off a record 4.68 percentage points from gross domestic product in the first quarter before adding all that back to GDP in the April-June quarter. Estimates for third-quarter GDP growth are well above a 3.0% annualized rate.
The third-quarter GDP report was due in late October but was delayed by the government shutdown. The economy grew at a 3.8% pace in the second quarter, with a smaller trade deficit being the key driver.
