U.S. trade data for 2025 show a mixed picture for President Donald Trump’s tariff strategy: the United States ran a slightly smaller overall trade deficit, but the goods-only gap—where the administration’s protectionist approach has been concentrated—grew to a record level, according to the Commerce Department. In the same period, imports and exports both rose, and the timing of the shift is reflected in how the deficit moved during the year.
Overall, the gap between what the U.S. sells and what it buys narrowed to just over $901 billion in 2025, down from $904 billion in 2024, the Commerce Department reported. Exports rose 6% last year, and imports rose nearly 5%, leaving the deficit lower but still among the highest on record.
The record came in the goods trade. The Commerce Department reported that the U.S. deficit in goods widened 2% to a record $1.24 trillion in 2025, even as firms increased imports tied to technology supply chains, including computer chips and other tech goods sourced as part of investment plans for artificial intelligence.
The data also show tariff-era trade shifting away from China but into other markets, particularly in goods. Amid continuing tensions with Beijing, the goods deficit with China plunged nearly 32% to $202 billion in 2025, helped by sharp declines in both U.S. exports to China and imports from China.
At the same time, the goods deficit expanded with some other countries. The goods gap with Taiwan doubled to $147 billion and rose 44% to $178 billion with Vietnam, reflecting diversion of trade flows away from China to other destinations.
Economist Chad Bown of the Peterson Institute for International Economics said the pattern could influence policy choices this year. Bown said the widening gaps with Taiwan and Vietnam might put a “bulls eye’’ on them if Trump focuses more on lopsided trade numbers and less on the U.S. rivalry with China.
In regional trade, the Commerce Department data showed the United States ran larger deficits with some neighbors while seeing offsets with others. The goods imports from Mexico outpaced exports by nearly $197 billion in 2025, compared with a 2024 gap of $172 billion, while the goods deficit with Canada shrank by 26% to $46 billion.
Beyond goods, the overall trade picture included services. The Commerce Department reported that the U.S. ran a bigger surplus in services such as banking and tourism in 2025, at $339 billion, compared with $312 billion in 2024.
The Commerce Department’s trade figures also showed a seasonal-like pattern tied to tariff timing: the trade gap surged from January through March as U.S. companies sought to import foreign goods ahead of Trump’s taxes, then narrowed for most of the rest of the year.
Trump’s tariffs are designed to raise the cost of imports, and the article said they are paid by U.S. importers and often passed along to customers as higher prices. It added that economists have found the tariffs did not have as much impact on inflation as they originally expected, while Trump has argued the tariffs will protect U.S. industries, bring manufacturing back, and generate revenue for the U.S. Treasury.