The U.S. trade deficit in goods and services reached $77.6 billion in May, driven by a 3.3% rise in imports and a 3.2% drop in exports. Import figures surged to $395.3 billion due to heightened consumption of pharmaceuticals, electronics, and vehicles. The decline in exports, particularly in gold, natural gas, and computers, contrasted with record levels of service exports and U.S. petroleum exports. The trade deficit increased by over 42% from the previous month. Recent tariffs under the Trump administration have significantly impacted trade patterns, leading to fluctuations in the deficit. Ongoing trade policy shifts include potential new tariffs after a Supreme Court ruling affected previous measures.

Manage Privacy Preferences

We and our vendors use cookies and similar methods (“Cookies”) to recognize visitors and remember their preferences. We also use Cookies for a variety of purposes, including analytics, to measure marketing effectiveness and to target and measure the effectiveness of ads. You can accept or reject the use of Cookies for individual purposes below. Some vendors process your data on the basis of their legitimate interest - you can object to such processing below. Your preferences will be saved in a cookie named “fides_consent” for a maximum duration of 12 months, as well as in your registered user account if you are logged in. If you previously accepted these methods through our prior banner, then we will use your data for targeting. Your preferences will apply on nytimes.com, as well as our News, Cooking, Games and Audio apps. Your preferences here are unrelated to Apple’s App Tracking Transparency Framework.

Purposes
Features
Vendors

Below, you will find a list of the purposes and special features for which your data is being processed. You may exercise your rights for specific purposes, based on consent or legitimate interest, using the toggles below.

Save

Reject allAccept all

EnglishEspañolFrançaisPortuguês - BR

Manage privacy preferences

We and our

337

vendors use cookies and similar methods to store and/or access information on a device and process your personal data (such as unique identifiers and browsing data) for personalised advertising, advertising measurement, audience research and services development, including by using precise geolocation data, and identification through device scanning. To learn more, view our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy. By clicking ‘Accept all,’ you consent to the processing of your data by us and our vendors on nytimes.com and our News, Cooking, Games, and Audio apps using the above methods. You can always withdraw your consent by clicking on Manage Privacy Preferences in our website footer or in your app Privacy Settings. Your preferences here are unrelated to Apple’s App Tracking Transparency Framework.

We and our partners process data for the following purposes

Store and/or access information on a device
Use limited data to select advertising
Create profiles for personalised advertising
Use profiles to select personalised advertising
Measure advertising performance
Measure content performance
Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources
Develop and improve services
Use precise geolocation data
Actively scan device characteristics for identification

Manage preferencesReject allAccept all

EnglishEspañolFrançaisPortuguês - BR

Preferences updated

static01.nyt.com

static01.nyt.com is blocked

This page has been blocked by an extension

Try disabling your extensions.

ERR_BLOCKED_BY_CLIENT

Reload

This page has been blocked by an extension

The New York Times Home Page

SKIP ADVERTISEMENT

The United States trade deficit in goods and services widened to $77.6 billion in May as America imported more goods than it sold abroad.

Imports rose, climbing 3.3 percent from the previous month, to hit $395.3 billion, as the United States imported more foreign pharmaceuticals, cellphones, cars and equipment to fill out new data centers.

U.S. exports of goods and services fell 3.2 percent in the month, to $317.7 billion, according to data the Commerce Department released on Tuesday. That included exports of gold, natural gas, computers and pharmaceuticals, which all fell from the previous month. The drop in goods exports was offset somewhat by an increase in service exports, including more revenue earned from foreigners traveling to the United States.

Exports and imports of services both hit a record in May, as did U.S. petroleum exports. Goods imports also hit a record high in the month.

The combination increased the monthly trade deficit, the gap between what the United States imports and what it exports. The U.S. trade deficit in goods and services bounced up more than 42 percent from the prior month.

The Trump administration has sought to reduce the trade deficit with a vast swath of tariffs on foreign goods. Those levies have caused imports, exports and the trade deficit to fluctuate wildly since President Trump came into office.

On average, the monthly trade deficit in goods since Mr. Trump’s second term began has been $96 billion in the 16 months since he returned to the White House. That’s down about 5 percent compared with the average monthly trade deficit in the 16 months before his presidency began.

Imports of some goods have fallen, but strong U.S. demand for A.I.-related technology, foreign medicines and other goods not made in the United States have helped to prop up trade.

The war in Iran has also affected trade, as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz scrambled supply chains for oil fertilizer, product packaging and helium. In April, the U.S. trade deficit fell on a monthly basis, as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz boosted U.S. exports of oil and petroleum to a new monthly record.

U.S. importers are currently bracing for another significant shift in trade policy. The administration has been working on a new round of levies after the Supreme Court in February struck down the double-digit tariffs that Mr. Trump imposed globally last year.

In February, the administration issued a flat 10 percent duty on every trading partner as a stopgap measure, but the authority for that tariff is time limited, and expected to expire later this month.

To replace it, the Trump administration has been preparing two major trade investigations using a provision known as Section 301, which will most likely return tariff rates to the levels seen before the Supreme Court decision. One investigation relates to other countries’ restrictions on importing forced labor goods, while the other looks at the tactics countries use to unfairly prop up their factory sectors.

Ana Swanson covers trade and international economics for The Times and is based in Washington. She has been a journalist for more than a decade.

Read 49 comments

Share full article
49

U.S. Trade Deficit Widens in May on Record Goods Imports

We and our partners process data for the following purposes

static01.nyt.com is blocked

Related Content