The US trade deficit in December 2025 increased, marking the end of a year in which the overall gap between imports and exports remained largely unchanged despite efforts by US President Donald Trump’s administration to reduce it, CNBC reported.
Marking an end to a volatile year in global markets, the US trade deficit in goods and services in December touched $70.3 billion, the Commerce Department said Thursday (local time). That was $17.3 billion higher than November and significantly exceeded the Dow Jones consensus estimate of $55.5 billion.
Donald Trump’s claim on the trade deficit
The official figures came a day after Trump announced on Truth Social that the US trade deficit had contracted sharply by 78%. On Wednesday (local time), he wrote, “The United States trade deficit has been reduced by 78% because of the tariffs being charged to other companies and countries. It will go into positive territory during this year, for the first time in many decades.”
Official figures show the US trade deficit fell by only 0.2% in 2025, not 78%, making Trump’s claim false.
US trade deficit data in 2025
According to Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) data, December 2025 exports were $287.3 billion, $5 billion less than in November, and imports were $357.6 billion, $12.3 billion more than November imports. The rise in the overall goods and services deficit in December was driven by a $15.7 billion increase in the goods deficit, which climbed to $99.3 billion, along with a $1.6 billion decline in the services surplus, which fell to $29.0 billion.
Data from the US Census Bureau showed that Washington’s trade deficit widened in November to $56.8 billion, up from $29.2 billion in October. In November, the US exported goods and services valued at $292.1 billion, $10.9 billion less than what it exported in October, marking a drop in overseas sales.
For 2025, the trade deficit decreased by $2.1 billion, or 0.2%, compared to 2024. Exports increased by $199.8 billion, or by 6.2%, and touched $3.43 trillion for 2025. Imports increased by $197.8 billion, or 4.8%, and touched $4.33 trillion. Washington ran a trade deficit of $901.5 billion, slightly lower than in 2024 and also a bit less than the record $923.7 billion deficit in 2022.
Washington had its largest goods deficit with the European Union at $218.8 billion, followed by China at $202.1 billion, and Mexico at $196.9 billion.
According to a CNBC report, to avoid the impact of upcoming tariffs, companies rushed to bring in goods during the first three months of the year. After that early surge, the pace slowed, and by October the monthly trade deficit fell to its lowest level since 2009.
Trump tariffs
The report comes nearly a year after Trump announced ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs in April 2025. The tariffs, which were announced on more than 100 countries, were aimed at “making America wealthy again.” On 2 April, Trump announced the “reciprocal tariffs”, which ranged from 10% to 50%. He described the move as America’s “declaration of economic independence.”
However, throughout the year, the Trump administration softened its stance on many countries after they secured deals with Washington. The list included China, Japan, South Korea, and others. However, India joined the list a little too late. In 2025, Trump announced a 25% tariff on India, bringing it down from the previously announced 26%. Later, in August, he announced an additional 25% tariff on all Indian goods after New Delhi refused to halt its purchase of Russian crude oil, citing the country’s energy security, a claim which the Trump administration denounced and accused New Delhi of fuelling Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.