It was no surprise that the 2025 goods deficit broke another record, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) numbers showed recently. The year-ending goods deficit was $1.24 trillion, up from $1.21 trillion in 2024, with the monthly deficit for December looking like historic averages, nearly $100 billion. Nothing seems to stop America’s appetite for imports.
The November trade deficit numbers returned to a more normal figure, with the services surplus still in the $20s to low $30 billion range, and the goods deficit jumping from the October lull.
Once year-ending 2025 trade data is released in February, we will be looking at another $1 trillion deficit. Assuming the monthly goods deficit for November and December looks like the low October goods deficit of $58.5 billion, the U.S. will record a minimum $1.17 trillion goods gap for 2025, the second largest trade deficit since 2024’s $1.2 trillion barnstormer.
AGOA, first enacted in 2000, provides qualifying sub-Saharan African nations with tariff-free access to the U.S. market for thousands of products and was intended to support economic development, democratic reform, and stronger geopolitical ties to the United States.
We must stop importing more goods than we export, leaving us deeply indebted to our trading partners. I urge Congress to urgently pass a bill that would implement the Market Access Charge. Call your Congressman and Senator today to urge them to support the introduction of such a bill.
The October trade deficit fell by 39% for goods and services combined, but even the goods deficit fell to monthly numbers not seen in at least five years. The October deficit in goods was $59.14 billion, down 24.5% from September, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said on Thursday.
The August trade deficit fell a significant 23.8%, with exports flat and imports down 5% due in large part to the 90-day reprieve from the so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs expiring.
The trade deficit rose 32.5% in July and imports were up 5.9%, but much of this can be attributed to importers bulking up on orders as the full brunt of the “Liberation Day” tariffs were set to start in August.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) upped the ante on their estimate for fiscal deficit reduction last week, all due to higher tariffs that kicked into effect this month. Tariffs are offsetting tax cuts signed into law this summer in the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB).
The trade deficit fell 16% in June to a low $60.2 billion, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said on Tuesday, but despite a 3.7% reduction in imports, the goods deficit for the month was surprisingly resilient compared to recent years without tariffs.
