Well, President Trump did say it would get worse before it got better. Though he probably wasn’t talking about the trade deficit he loathes. Either way, he’ll have to take his own advice this month.
The US trade gap rose to a record $140.5 billion in March, a 14% increase from February. The US imported $419 billion in goods and services in March and exported $278.5 billion, also record highs. Imports for 2025 so far have risen 23.3%.
Businesses trying to get the last of tariff-free imports upped merchandise purchasing, creating the March boom. A stockpiling of pharmaceuticals drove a $22.5 billion increase in imported consumer goods. Upticks in spending were also seen on computer accessories, automobiles, and other car accessories.
“Businesses are clearly scrambling as they try to find a way through this time of unprecedented change, but the worst is undoubtedly yet to come because the import tariff collections did not start to roll in earnest until after the White House ‘Liberation Day’ announcement on April 2,” Christopher Rupkey, chief economist at FWDBONDS, told Yahoo Finance. April’s numbers will be announced in June.
Imports from Mexico, India, Vietnam, the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, and the Netherlands hit record highs in March, Reuters reported. Tariffs on these countries were paused for 90 days, but the president’s hard stance on China meant those tariffs came early.
Thus, imports from China dropped to their lowest point since 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted China’s supply chains, according to Yahoo Finance. The trade deficit is expected to be lower in April, according to the WSJ.
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