US Trade Deficit Shrinks Nearly 17 Percent in August

Imports retreated sharply, pushing the goods deficit to $85.5 billion and bolstering the case that tariffs are reweighting trade toward U.S. producers.

Cargo containers fill a ship at the Port of Oakland, Calif., on Aug. 6, 2025. AP Photo/Noah Berger

The U.S. trade deficit in goods shrank nearly 17 percent in August, one of the sharpest improvements in the past year, new Commerce Department data shows.

The goods gap narrowed by 16.8 percent to $85.5 billion, down from $102.8 billion in July, the Commerce Department’s Census Bureau reported on Sept. 25. Economists surveyed by Reuters had forecast the deficit narrowing to $95.2 billion.