March Trade Deficit Reaches Historic High in the U.S., Trump’s Trade Policies Have Significant Impact
Recent data from the U.S. Commerce Department shows that the trade deficit in March expanded to a historic high of $140.5 billion as companies increased imports in anticipation of President Trump's new tariff policies. This led to a negative growth in GDP for the first quarter, which contracted at an annualized rate of -0.3%, marking the first shrinkage in three years.
The data indicates that total U.S. imports in March surged to $419 billion, a 4.4% increase year-on-year, with goods imports reaching $346.8 billion. Notably, imports of pharmaceuticals from Ireland increased by $22.5 billion, while imports from China fell to their lowest level in five years due to tariffs that have surged to 145%.
Economists warn that this surge in imports may continue until April, after which uncertainty in trade policies is expected to further suppress corporate confidence.
