Despite foreign currency gains against the dollar in top trading partners like Mexico, Vietnam and China, import values for goods came in at $309.01 billion. That is the second highest import value of the year following May’s $316.86 billion surge, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said on Tuesday.
All told, the goods gap for June was $102.10 billion, down from $105.96 billion in May. Import values are much higher than the $82 billion to $86 billion range recorded for much of the year, suggesting both price inflation of key imported commodities and possible spikes in volume of manufactured goods.
“Exporters can also be dropping prices to absorb some of the tariff impact. This is especially true for companies that are subsidized at home and have flexibility on price,” said Andrew Rechenberg, Senior Economist at CPA. “We’ve seen unit values fall across many product categories even as import volumes remain steady or increase. That means declines in total import value can overstate declines in actual imports, and it’s difficult to know from value data alone how much reflects lower prices versus lower volumes.”
The year-to-date goods deficit still looks better on paper than it did a year ago, at $541.84 billion compared to $721.49 billion in the same period last year. However, it is not much different than the January-June 2024 period. Still, if import values remain elevated heading into the fall – over $90 billion per month – the U.S. goods deficit could actually come in below $1 trillion. If import values continue to surge over $100 billion per month in an unlikely scenario, the goods deficit would come in closer to $1.04 trillion.
No Major Import Surprises
U.S. importers did manage to spend less on crude oil in June – $13.79 billion vs $15.10 billion in May. Computer imports, one of the top items imported all year, declined in value to $27.70 billion in June vs $30.73 billion in May. Automotive parts values declined by $458 million to $11.75 billion and car imports were relatively flat. Pharmaceutical import values, another top imported good month after month, fell by $1.8 billion to $14.62 billion in June.
Although import value is not necessarily indicative of less import volume, it is hard to find any particular item that jumps out as a surge.
Fish and shellfish imports rose by $141 million to $2.45 billion in June, but import values are down $833 million year-to-date ending June 30.
We saw a $160 million increase in imports for bauxite and aluminum to $2.08 billion; a $161 million increase in what the BEA describes as “steelmaking materials” to $975 million; and a $302 million increase in copper imports to $1.81 billion, with the value of copper rising steadily on the futures market. Copper importers have spent around $3 billion more this year on imports, followed by bauxite and aluminum importers who spent around $2.6 billion more.
According to Bloomberg on Tuesday, the Trump administration is proposing including 14 types of derivative products made from steel, aluminum and copper in a revamped Section 232.
Once again, the biggest value increase comes from the AI and quantum build-out in the U.S. The U.S. imported over $730 million more in computer accessories for June ($20.14 billion) and $1.11 billion more in telecom equipment ($14.98 billion) in June. These two items saw the biggest jump in value and seem to be the biggest trade, and economic, drivers at the moment.
U.S.-Vietnam Trade Deficit Beats U.S.-Mexico
Vietnam is the undisputed leader in the China+1 strategy from a few years back. That’s pre-tariff years, when companies were complaining about rising costs in China and looking for alternatives. Southeast Asia was the alternative. Vietnam has clearly come out on top. The goods deficit shows it.
The U.S. continues to de-risk supply chains from China, but Asia remains the go-to hub for all things.
Country
June 2026 deficit
May 2026 deficit
YTD2026 Deficit
Vietnam
$23.64 billion
$20.31 billion
$114.028 billion
Mexico
$21.34 billion
$21.12 billion
$102.58 billion
Taiwan
$15.80 billion
$19.83 billion
$107.18 billion
China
$15.57 billion
$14.39 billion
$73.85 billion
Thailand
$9.189 billion
$9.20 billion
$54.15 billion
Worth noting, the deficit with Thailand is 88% higher than it was last year ($28.8 billion Jan-June).
Lastly, the U.S. deficit with the EU has fallen dramatically to $42.86 billion year-to-date versus $148.01 billion YTD 2025, suggesting expensive fuel exports might have been the reason for the lower goods gap between the EU and United States.
MADE IN AMERICA.
CPA is the leading national, bipartisan organization exclusively representing domestic producers and workers across many industries and sectors of the U.S. economy.
Import Values Fell By Around $6 Billion In June, But Month Was Second Highest Goods Import Surge of 2026
Despite foreign currency gains against the dollar in top trading partners like Mexico, Vietnam and China, import values for goods came in at $309.01 billion. That is the second highest import value of the year following May’s $316.86 billion surge, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said on Tuesday.
All told, the goods gap for June was $102.10 billion, down from $105.96 billion in May. Import values are much higher than the $82 billion to $86 billion range recorded for much of the year, suggesting both price inflation of key imported commodities and possible spikes in volume of manufactured goods.
“Exporters can also be dropping prices to absorb some of the tariff impact. This is especially true for companies that are subsidized at home and have flexibility on price,” said Andrew Rechenberg, Senior Economist at CPA. “We’ve seen unit values fall across many product categories even as import volumes remain steady or increase. That means declines in total import value can overstate declines in actual imports, and it’s difficult to know from value data alone how much reflects lower prices versus lower volumes.”
The year-to-date goods deficit still looks better on paper than it did a year ago, at $541.84 billion compared to $721.49 billion in the same period last year. However, it is not much different than the January-June 2024 period. Still, if import values remain elevated heading into the fall – over $90 billion per month – the U.S. goods deficit could actually come in below $1 trillion. If import values continue to surge over $100 billion per month in an unlikely scenario, the goods deficit would come in closer to $1.04 trillion.
No Major Import Surprises
U.S. importers did manage to spend less on crude oil in June – $13.79 billion vs $15.10 billion in May. Computer imports, one of the top items imported all year, declined in value to $27.70 billion in June vs $30.73 billion in May. Automotive parts values declined by $458 million to $11.75 billion and car imports were relatively flat. Pharmaceutical import values, another top imported good month after month, fell by $1.8 billion to $14.62 billion in June.
Although import value is not necessarily indicative of less import volume, it is hard to find any particular item that jumps out as a surge.
Fish and shellfish imports rose by $141 million to $2.45 billion in June, but import values are down $833 million year-to-date ending June 30.
We saw a $160 million increase in imports for bauxite and aluminum to $2.08 billion; a $161 million increase in what the BEA describes as “steelmaking materials” to $975 million; and a $302 million increase in copper imports to $1.81 billion, with the value of copper rising steadily on the futures market. Copper importers have spent around $3 billion more this year on imports, followed by bauxite and aluminum importers who spent around $2.6 billion more.
According to Bloomberg on Tuesday, the Trump administration is proposing including 14 types of derivative products made from steel, aluminum and copper in a revamped Section 232.
Once again, the biggest value increase comes from the AI and quantum build-out in the U.S. The U.S. imported over $730 million more in computer accessories for June ($20.14 billion) and $1.11 billion more in telecom equipment ($14.98 billion) in June. These two items saw the biggest jump in value and seem to be the biggest trade, and economic, drivers at the moment.
U.S.-Vietnam Trade Deficit Beats U.S.-Mexico
Vietnam is the undisputed leader in the China+1 strategy from a few years back. That’s pre-tariff years, when companies were complaining about rising costs in China and looking for alternatives. Southeast Asia was the alternative. Vietnam has clearly come out on top. The goods deficit shows it.
The U.S. continues to de-risk supply chains from China, but Asia remains the go-to hub for all things.
Country
June 2026 deficit
May 2026 deficit
YTD2026 Deficit
Vietnam
$23.64 billion
$20.31 billion
$114.028 billion
Mexico
$21.34 billion
$21.12 billion
$102.58 billion
Taiwan
$15.80 billion
$19.83 billion
$107.18 billion
China
$15.57 billion
$14.39 billion
$73.85 billion
Thailand
$9.189 billion
$9.20 billion
$54.15 billion
Worth noting, the deficit with Thailand is 88% higher than it was last year ($28.8 billion Jan-June).
Lastly, the U.S. deficit with the EU has fallen dramatically to $42.86 billion year-to-date versus $148.01 billion YTD 2025, suggesting expensive fuel exports might have been the reason for the lower goods gap between the EU and United States.
MADE IN AMERICA.
CPA is the leading national, bipartisan organization exclusively representing domestic producers and workers across many industries and sectors of the U.S. economy.
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