Washington, (EFE) — The U.S. trade deficit fell 1.2% in April to $55.9 billion, the second full month after the Supreme Court struck down much of President Donald Trump’s tariff framework, according to data released Tuesday by the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).
The figure represents a $700 million decline from the revised March deficit of $56.6 billion.
April was the second complete month since a February Supreme Court ruling declared it unlawful to invoke a national emergency to impose sweeping global tariffs, effectively dismantling most of Trump’s “reciprocal” tariff scheme. The administration has since relied on other legal avenues to maintain a 10% baseline tariff set to expire in July.
Exports of goods and services rose 2.6% in April to $327.1 billion, driven by strong demand for U.S. hydrocarbons as buyers sought alternatives to Middle Eastern supply following Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz — a retaliatory move after the U.S.-Israel military campaign against Tehran.
Industrial supplies and materials exports climbed $2.5 billion, led by crude oil ($6.4 billion), fuel oil ($1.3 billion), and other petroleum products ($1.0 billion). Capital goods exports also rose $4.0 billion, with computers up $2.5 billion and civilian aircraft adding $1.0 billion. Consumer goods exports gained $1.7 billion.
Non-monetary gold fell $5.8 billion, and other precious metals dropped $1.9 billion.
Imports grew a robust 2.0% to $383.0 billion, partially offsetting the export gains. Capital goods imports led the increase, rising $7.0 billion — including computers (+$2.2B), semiconductors (+$1.7B), and telecom equipment (+$1.6B).
The overall goods and services deficit narrowed due to a $2.4 billion reduction in the goods deficit, which settled at $83.7 billion. However, the services surplus shrank $1.7 billion to $27.8 billion.
Through the first four months of 2026, the cumulative goods and services deficit has narrowed by $213.5 billion — a 49.1% drop compared to the same period in 2025. Exports are up $128.2 billion (+11.3%) year-to-date, while imports are down $85.3 billion (-5.5%).
The U.S. trade deficit with China shrank $2.6 billion to $12.0 billion. The deficit with Mexico stood at $14.8 billion, with Canada at $6.2 billion, and with the European Union at $7.2 billion. The U.S. surplus with South and Central America widened $2.6 billion to $7.8 billion, while the surplus with the United Kingdom narrowed $3.8 billion to $2.6 billion.
Concerns raised about investor reaction after major project put on hold By Philipe Schoene Roura Although the uproar over the sudden resignations of key personnel at the Economic Development & Commerce Department (DDEC) has largely died down, the dust has yet to settle, with the private sector expressing concerns about the impact that the abrupt […]
New York, EFE-Hundreds of curious onlookers gathered Friday outside the Nasdaq stock exchange in the iconic Times Square plaza to celebrate the IPO of SpaceX, Elon Musk’s company focused on rocket manufacturing, satellite launches, and artificial intelligence (AI), and to show their support for the billionaire. The crowd — which watched from the street as […]
Washington (EFE) — U.S. consumer prices surged to 4.2% year-over-year in May, the highest level since April 2023 and in line with analyst forecasts, as energy costs driven by the Iran conflict continue to push inflation higher. The figure, released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), is 0.4 percentage points above April’s reading […]
