Import Surge Drives US Trade Deficit to Record High in January

An economist warns that the widening deficit is a symptom of a deeper economic problem—U.S. overreliance on consumption and imported goods.

Shipping containers are stacked high at the Port of Long Beach in Long Beach, Calif., on March 4, 2025. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

The U.S. trade deficit reached a record high in January on a surge of imports, with President Donald Trump vowing to reverse the trend by curbing foreign goods and boosting domestic production.

The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) announced on March 6 that America’s trade gap with the world surged 34 percent in January to an all-time high of $131.4 billion, up from $98.1 billion in December.