As of 2024, the United States had a trade deficit of about 918 billion U.S. dollars. The U.S. trade deficit has increased since 2009, peaking in 2022. Most recently, 2023 marked the year when the U.S. trade deficit decreased from the previous year. What is trade deficit? A trade deficit is, quite simply, the total value of a country’s imports of goods and services minus the total value of its exports of goods and services. When a country exports more than it imports, it has a trade surplus, and when it imports more than it exports, it has a trade deficit. A trade deficit can mean one of two things: Either the country is failing to produce enough goods for its citizens, or its citizens are wealthy enough to purchase more goods than the country produces (as is the case with the United States). Trading partners The United States’ top export partners are its closest neighbors, Canada and Mexico, due in part to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which, pending ratification, will be replaced by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Regarding imports to the U.S., China takes the top spot, followed by Mexico and Canada.

External balance on goods and services (formerly resource balance) equals exports of goods and services minus imports of goods and services (previously nonfactor services). Data are in current U.S. dollars.

This statistic shows the United States goods trade deficit with China from 2014 to 2024. In 2024, the value of U.S. imports from China exceeded the exports to China by around 295.4 billion U.S. dollars.

Graph and download economic data for Trade Balance: Goods and Services, Balance of Payments Basis (BOPGSTB) from Jan 1992 to Jan 2025 about BOP, balance, headline figure, trade, goods, services, and USA.

The balance of trade of goods and services of the United States in the third quarter of 2024 amounted to a deficit of around 233.58 billion U.S. dollars. This is a decrease from the previous quarter, when the balance of goods and services of the U.S. amounted to a deficit of 225.22billion U.S. dollars.

In 2024, China's merchandise trade surplus amounted to around 992.2 billion U.S. dollars, significantly higher than in the previous year. The merchandise trade balance is the value of exported goods minus the value of imported goods. A positive value indicates a trade surplus, while a negative value indicates a trade deficit. Trade balance and partnersIn 2024, Chinese imports of goods amounted to approximately 2.59 trillion U.S. dollars, whereas total exports added up to about 3.58 trillion U.S. dollars. In contrast, China’s invisible trade balance, an indicator measuring services and government transfers between countries, closed with a deficit and ranged at about -92 billion U.S. dollars at the end of 2022. Being an economy heavily reliant on export, China ranked first among countries with the highest trade surplus, followed by Germany and Russia. The United States, with imports exceeding exports by approximately 1.15 trillion U.S. dollars that year, ranked first among leading import countries worldwide. In 2023, the value of the U.S. imports from China exceeded the exports to China by around 279.4 billion U.S. dollars. Another important trade partner for China is the European Union. In 2023, the EU imported around 514 billion euro-worth of goods from China, leading to a trade deficit of around 291 billion euros. Product categories with the highest trade deficit were mostly finished goods such as machinery and transport equipment, clothing, and other manufactures, whereas product categories with a more balanced trade sheet consisted of raw materials and agricultural products to a large extent.

This statistic shows the 20 countries with the highest trade balance deficit worldwide in 2023. In 2023, the United States reported the highest trade balance deficit with approximately 1.15 trillion U.S. dollars.

China recorded a trade surplus of 104.84 USD Billion in December of 2024. This dataset provides - China Balance of Trade - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Japan recorded a trade surplus of 584.50 JPY Billion in February of 2025. This dataset provides - Japan Balance of Trade - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Graph and download economic data for Net Exports of Goods and Services (NETEXP) from Q1 1947 to Q4 2024 about exports, Net, goods, services, GDP, and USA.

This data package includes the underlying data and files to replicate the calculations, charts, and tables presented in Taming the US trade deficit: A dollar policy for balanced growth, PIIE Policy Brief 20-15.

If you use the data, please cite as: Gagnon, Joseph E. (2020). Taming the US trade deficit: A dollar policy for balanced growth. PIIE Policy Brief 20-15. Peterson Institute for International Economics.

The United States recorded a Current Account deficit of 303.90 USD Billion in the fourth quarter of 2024. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - United States Current Account - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Turkey recorded a trade deficit of 8154 USD Million in February of 2025. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - Turkey Balance of Trade - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

This data package includes the underlying data files to replicate the data and charts presented in Misconceptions about US trade deficits muddy the economic policy debate by Maurice Obstfeld, PIIE Policy Brief 24-7.

If you use the data, please cite as: Obstfeld, Maurice. 2024. Misconceptions about US trade deficits muddy the economic policy debate. PIIE Policy Brief 24-7. Washington, DC: Peterson Institute for International Economics.

Colombia recorded a trade deficit of 1.28 USD Billion in January of 2025. This dataset provides - Colombia Balance of Trade - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Australia recorded a trade surplus of 5085 AUD Million in December of 2024. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - Australia Balance of Trade - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

External balance on goods and services (formerly resource balance) equals exports of goods and services minus imports of goods and services (previously nonfactor services). Data are in current U.S. dollars.

Brazil recorded a trade deficit of 300 USD Million in February of 2025. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - Brazil Balance of Trade - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

In 2023, Japan recorded a surplus in goods and services trade with the United States valued at around 10.3 trillion Japanese yen. The Japanese trade balance with the U.S. remained positive in recent years, with a decade-high reported in 2023.

Mexico recorded a trade deficit of 4558 USD Million in January of 2025. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - Mexico Balance of Trade - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.