The trade deficit of the United States reached a record high of 140.5 billion US dollars in March

The trade deficit of the United States hit a record high in March as enterprises increased the import of goods before the tariff measures took effect.

Reuters reported that according to a statement released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the US Department of Commerce on Tuesday (May 6), the US trade deficit jumped to a record $140.5 billion in March, an increase of 14% from $123.2 billion in February.

Although the export volume of the United States rose by 0.2% in March to a record high of 278.5 billion US dollars, the import volume soared by 4.4% to a historical high of 419 billion US dollars, far exceeding the export volume.

The tariff measures of US President Trump also led to the negative growth of the US gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter for the first time in three years.

The US government reported last week that the trade deficit in the last quarter decreased by a record 4.83 percentage points of GDP, causing the US economy to shrink by 0.3%. This was the first decline since the first quarter of 2022.

Trump announced the implementation of comprehensive tariffs, including raising tariffs on Chinese imports to 145%, causing various enterprises to rush to import goods to avoid rising costs.

Although the reciprocal tariffs between the United States and most of its trading partners were suspended for 90 days, the tariffs on Chinese goods still took effect in early April, triggering a trade war between the United States and China.

Economists predict that the import boom will subside before May, which may help the US GDP rebound in the second quarter.

However, they warned that the boost brought by the reduction in imports might be offset by the decline in exports as other countries boycotted American goods and travel.