The US trade deficit widened even as new tariffs were in place, with imports growing three times as fast as exports in August. The goods and services gap reached $105.6 billion, its largest monthly level since March 2025, before President Donald Trump's 'liberation day' reciprocal tariff announcement.
The deficit was $12.7 billion, or 13.7%, higher than the revised $92.8 billion recorded in July. It also exceeded the $102 billion Dow Jones consensus estimate.
Imports rose 4.3% to an all-time high of $420.8 billion. Exports increased 1.4% to $315.2 billion.
Industrial supplies and materials accounted for a large part of the increase in imports, rising $9.1 billion as crude oil and nonmonetary gold purchases increased. Capital-goods imports added $6.2 billion, led by semiconductors.
Technology companies building data centres are importing large volumes of costly chips, most of them made in Asia. That demand has helped lift capital-goods imports while companies race to secure artificial intelligence infrastructure.
The largest bilateral goods deficit was with Mexico, at $27.7 billion. The deficit with Vietnam was $24.0 billion and that with Taiwan was $18.3 billion. The goods deficit with China rose to $16.4 billion from $15.2 billion in July.
Trump imposed new tariffs in late July, including a 10% tariff on allies such as the European Union and a 12.5% tariff on other nations, including China.
Companies had previously stockpiled goods after Trump's election in anticipation of tariffs, pushing the trade gap to record levels in the early months of his presidency. The gap then fell after the 'Liberation Day' tariffs took effect.
The August figures therefore sit alongside a narrower cumulative deficit. Through August, the goods and services deficit had narrowed by $138.2 billion, roughly 20%, compared with the first eight months of 2025. Export growth over that period was $267.7 billion, while additional imports totalled $129.5 billion.
After adjusting for inflation, the merchandise-trade deficit widened to $114.7 billion in August, also the largest shortfall since March 2025. Whether the August widening marks a reversal in the cumulative trend, or a temporary increase tied to particular imports, remains unclear.
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