In 2025, the United States saw a slight decline in its trade deficit, a year marked by President Trump’s significant disruption to global trade dynamics through the imposition of hefty tariffs on imports from numerous countries. Despite these extensive import duties, the trade imbalance in goods such as machinery and aircraft—central to Trump’s protectionist agenda—reached an all-time high last year.

According to the Commerce Department’s Thursday report, the overall difference between what the US exports and imports narrowed slightly to just over $901 billion from $904 billion in 2024, remaining the third-largest deficit on record. Exports increased by 6%, while imports saw nearly a 5% rise.

The US trade deficit in goods expanded by 2% to a historic $1.24 trillion as American businesses ramped up imports of computer chips and other technological products from Taiwan, driven by substantial investments in artificial intelligence.

Due to ongoing frictions with Beijing, the US goods trade deficit with China dropped by nearly 32% to $202 billion in 2025, influenced by a significant decrease in both exports to and imports from the world’s second-largest economy. However, trade patterns shifted from China, doubling the goods deficit with Taiwan to $147 billion and increasing it by 44% to $178 billion with Vietnam.

Chad Bown, an economist and senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, suggested that the growing trade gaps with Taiwan and Vietnam might attract attention this year. He noted that if Trump shifts his focus from the rivalry with China to the imbalanced trade figures, these countries might find themselves under scrutiny.

Economist Chad Bown, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said the widening gaps with Taiwan and Vietnam might put a “bulls eye’’ on them this year if Trump focuses more on the lopsided trade numbers and less on the US rivalry with China.

In 2025, US goods imports from Mexico outpaced exports by nearly $197 billion, up from a 2024 gap of $172 billion. But the goods deficit with Canada shrank by 26% to $46 billion. The United States this year is negotiating a renewal of a pact Trump reached with those two countries in his first term.

The US ran a bigger surplus in the trade of services such as banking and tourism last year — $339 billion, up from $312 billion in 2024.

The trade gap surged from January-March as US companies tried to import foreign goods ahead of Trump’s taxes, then narrowed most of the rest of the year.

Trump’s tariffs are a tax paid by US importers and often passed along to their customers as higher prices. But they haven’t had as much impact on inflation as economists originally expected. Trump argues that the tariffs will protect US industries, bringing manufacturing back to America and raise money for the Treasury.