The US trade deficit jumped 4.3% in March to $60.3 billion, the second straight monthly jump and a reading that reflects the first full month after the Supreme Court struck down President Trump’s blanket tariffs.
Imports jumped 2.3% to $381.2 billion, outpacing a rise in exports of 2.0% to 320.9 billion. The goods deficit increased by $4.1 billion to $88.7 billion. The US traditionally runs a positive number on the services side of the ledger — that surplus continued and increased by $1.6 billion to $28.4 billion.
March’s rise was the second consecutive increase to begin 2026 and follows a revised February trade deficit of $57.8 billion and a January tally of $54.7 billion.
The new data released Tuesday by the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis is the latest in 16 volatile months since Trump’s election, with zigzagging numbers that can be adeptly spun by either side of the partisan divide, as hard conclusions can be more difficult to draw.
That’s in large part because imports surged and the trade deficit ballooned over a four-month window from December 2024 to March 2025, with importers stocking up in advance of anticipated new tariffs.
For example, the new reading for March 2026 marks a whopping 55% drop in the deficit from March 2025, which marked the largest trade deficit in US history as shippers stocked up. But it’s a very slight 0.3% increase when compared with April 2025, when many of those “Liberation Day” tariffs were announced and imports plummeted.
The Supreme Court upended that cornerstone of Trump’s second-term tariff regime with a landmark ruling in February that found the president lacks authority to impose tariffs under a 1977 law governing emergency economic powers.
Read more: 5 ways to tariff-proof your finances
Changes in March among specific sectors
One of the sectors that most contributed to March’s larger deficit was imports of automotive vehicles, parts, and engines, which increased by $3.6 billion. Trump recently threatened to increase automotive tariffs on Europe from 15% to 25%, with negotiators reportedly meeting this week to reach a compromise. Imports of consumer goods also jumped by $2.4 billion.
Capitol Economics described this latest “modest widening of the trade deficit in March” as “less about insatiable AI-driven demand for computer hardware than in recent months, and more about a broader increase in imports.”
Thursday’s data also included a country-by-country breakdown and showed persistent multibillion-dollar trade deficits with many nations, including Mexico ($16.4 billion), Vietnam ($19.2 billion), China ($14 billion), and others.
