March Trade Deficit Widens as Imports Outpace Record Exports

03:39 PM EDT, 05/05/2026 (MT Newswires) -- The US trade deficit grew in March as imports outpaced record-high exports, government data showed Tuesday.

The goods and services deficit widened 4.4% sequentially to $60.31 billion in March on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis said. The consensus was for a deficit of $61 billion in a Bloomberg-compiled survey.

Exports increased 2% to $320.86 billion in March -- the highest on record -- with the goods component also reaching an all-time high, according to the official data. Imports jumped 2.3% to $381.17 billion.

"March's trade data point to solid underlying domestic demand," BMO Capital Markets Senior Economist Priscilla Thiagamoorthy said in a note. "Still, that strength is pulling in imports fast enough to widen the trade gap."

The strength in exports was concentrated in energy-related goods amid the US-Israel war with Iran instead of "sturdy, broad-based" global demand, Thiagamoorthy said. Autos were a "key" driver of imports growth, while consumer goods and capital goods also logged strong gains, she said.

The Iran war, which started at the end of February, sent energy prices surging amid the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most important chokepoint for crude flows. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly said Tuesday a recent ceasefire with Iran remains intact.

The US ran a $20.6 billion deficit in goods trade with Taiwan in March, compared with a $21.12 billion gap the month prior, official data showed. The deficit with China grew to $14.01 billion from $13.09 billion. The goods trade deficit with the European Union swelled to $9.24 billion from February's $5.09 billion. The shortfall with Vietnam grew to $19.24 billion from $16.55 billion.

In the year through March, the goods and services deficit dropped 55% year over year, according to the report.

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