What is the U.S. goods trade deficit?

It is the value of physical goods the U.S. imports minus the value it exports. In August 2026, goods imports were $342.2 billion and goods exports $205.7 billion on a balance-of-payments basis, for a goods deficit of $136.6 billion, according to Census and BEA.

Is the trade deficit getting smaller in 2026?

For the year to date, yes. The goods deficit from January to August 2026 was about $803 billion, versus about $912 billion in the same period of 2025, and the combined goods-and-services deficit was down 19.9%. But the monthly deficit grew from about $82 billion in January to $136.6 billion in August.

Does buying American-made products reduce the trade deficit?

Each purchase of a U.S.-made product instead of an imported one shifts that spending from imports to domestic production. The overall deficit also depends on savings, investment, exchange rates and business purchases, so individual shopping is one factor among many.

U.S. Goods Trade Deficit Charted, 1992

Q: Which country does the U.S. have the largest trade deficit with?

In August 2026 it was Mexico, at $27.7 billion on a Census basis, followed by Vietnam ($24.0 billion), Taiwan ($18.3 billion) and China ($16.4 billion). These country figures are seasonally adjusted for one month and change from month to month.

The short answer: the United States imports far more physical goods than it exports, and the gap has grown for most of the last three decades. In 2025 the goods trade deficit was about $1.26 trillion, the largest on record. In 2026 the deficit is smaller so far, but it widened sharply over the summer. Below are the numbers from Census and BEA, and what they do and don't tell you about buying American.

What is the goods trade deficit, exactly?

Every month, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) publish the value of goods and services the U.S. sells to and buys from the rest of the world. The goods balance covers physical things: cars, phones, crude oil, medicines, clothing, machinery. When imports are larger than exports, the balance is negative and we call it a deficit.

In the latest report, for August 2026 (released October 6):

Goods imports were $342.2 billion and goods exports were $205.7 billion.
That left a goods deficit of $136.6 billion, up $12.8 billion from July.
Services, such as travel, finance, software licenses and intellectual property, had a $31.0 billion surplus.
Combined, the goods and services deficit was $105.6 billion.

The headline number in the news is usually that last one. This post focuses on goods, because goods are what "Made in USA" is about.

How has the goods deficit changed since 1992?

U.S. goods trade deficit, 1992–2025

Billions of dollars, sum of monthly seasonally adjusted figures, balance-of-payments basis

Shown as a positive number for readability; the official balance is negative. Annual figures here are our sums of the monthly seasonally adjusted values and may differ slightly from BEA's published annual totals.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau and BEA, BOPGTB via FRED

View the data

Year	Goods deficit ($ billions)
1992	$96.9
1993	$132
1994	$166
1995	$174
1996	$191
1997	$198
1998	$248
1999	$337
2000	$447
2001	$422
2002	$475
2003	$542
2004	$665
2005	$783
2006	$837
2007	$821
2008	$832
2009	$510
2010	$649
2011	$741
2012	$741
2013	$700
2014	$750
2015	$762
2016	$750
2017	$799
2018	$879
2019	$857
2020	$913
2021	$1,083
2022	$1,175
2023	$1,058
2024	$1,213
2025	$1,260

The long-run trend is up, with two big breaks:

1990s to 2006: The deficit grew from about $97 billion in 1992 to $447 billion in 2000 and $837 billion in 2006.
2009: During the recession, it fell to about $510 billion. Imports fall when Americans and businesses buy less.
2010s: It climbed back from about $649 billion in 2010 to $879 billion in 2018.
2020s: It passed $1 trillion for the first time in 2021 ($1.08 trillion), dipped in 2023 ($1.06 trillion), then set records in 2024 ($1.21 trillion) and 2025 ($1.26 trillion).

One pattern stands out: the deficit usually shrinks in downturns and grows when the U.S. economy is strong. A smaller deficit is not automatically good news, and a larger one is not automatically bad. That's why it helps to look at exports and imports separately.

What is happening to the deficit in 2026?

For the year to date, it is down. From January to August 2026, the goods deficit added up to about $803 billion, compared with about $912 billion in the same eight months of 2025. That 2025 total includes an unusually large deficit in January–March 2025 ($152.8B, $144.3B and $159.5B). Census and BEA say the combined goods-and-services deficit is down 19.9% year to date.

Month by month, though, 2026 has gone the other way:

Monthly goods deficit, 2026

Billions of dollars, seasonally adjusted, balance-of-payments basis

August is the latest month published; September data are due November 4, 2026.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau and BEA, BOPGTB via FRED

View the data

Month (2026)	Goods deficit ($ billions)
January	$82.3
February	$82.5
March	$86.1
April	$83.1
May	$106.3
June	$102.0
July	$123.8
August	$136.6

The goods deficit held at about $82–86 billion a month from January to April, then rose to $106.3 billion in May and $136.6 billion in August. In August, imports of industrial supplies rose $9.1 billion and capital goods $6.2 billion, including $2.4 billion more in semiconductors, according to the release.

Are U.S. exports growing?

Yes, faster than imports so far this year. Goods exports from January to August 2026 were about $1.66 trillion, up from about $1.44 trillion in the same period of 2025. Goods imports grew from about $2.36 trillion to $2.46 trillion. For comparison, total goods exports for all of 2000 were about $785 billion, and in 2025 they were about $2.19 trillion.

Census-basis exports in August were led by gains in industrial supplies (+$6.3 billion, including crude oil and nonmonetary gold) and capital goods (+$1.3 billion). Consumer goods exports fell $2.2 billion, mostly pharmaceutical preparations.

Which countries account for the biggest deficits?

Largest U.S. goods deficits by trading partner, August 2026

Billions of dollars, Census basis, seasonally adjusted

Germany is also part of the European Union total.

Source: U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services, August 2026 (exhibit 19)

View the data

Partner	Goods deficit ($ billions)
Mexico	$27.7
Vietnam	$24.0
Taiwan	$18.3
China	$16.4
European Union	$11.0
South Korea	$9.4
Canada	$7.1
India	$6.2
Germany	$6.2
Malaysia	$6.0

On a Census basis in August 2026, the largest goods deficits were with Mexico ($27.7 billion), Vietnam ($24.0 billion), Taiwan ($18.3 billion) and China ($16.4 billion). The U.S. had goods surpluses with the Netherlands ($7.7 billion), South and Central America ($5.6 billion) and the United Kingdom ($3.6 billion).

Country figures move around a lot from month to month and reflect where goods are finally assembled. A phone assembled in Vietnam from parts made in several countries counts entirely as an import from Vietnam.

What does the trade deficit mean for buying American?

The trade numbers measure everything, from crude oil to jetliners. Household shopping is only one piece of it. Still, every purchase shifts a little demand either to domestic producers or to foreign ones. When you choose U.S.-made goods, the money pays for U.S. factory work. Our state-by-state data on manufacturing jobs shows where that work happens.

A few practical points:

Look for categories with strong domestic makers. Hand tools, cast iron, glassware and many pantry foods still have long-running U.S. producers. Examples include Channellock pliers from Meadville, Pennsylvania, Lodge cast iron from South Pittsburg, Tennessee, and Blenko Glass from Milton, West Virginia.
Read the label, not the flag on the box. "Designed in USA" and "Distributed by" a U.S. company don't tell you where something was made. See our guide to country-of-origin labels.
Expect "Assembled in USA" for complex goods. Many electronics and appliances combine imported parts with U.S. assembly. Our explainer on manufacturing output vs. jobs shows how much the U.S. still makes even with fewer factory workers.