Trump effect: tariffs reduced the U.S. trade deficit by almost half in nine months

The trade deficit of the United States was reduced by almost half since President Donald Trump announced in March the imposition of massive tariffs, an event that was known as "Liberation Day".

The total deficit of goods and services fell to 70.3 billion dollars in December, compared with 136.0 billion in March. It is a reduction of 65.7 billion dollars, according to data from the Department of Commerce published on Thursday. The deficit in goods alone fell 39%, from 162.1 billion to 99.3 billion.

When Trump announced his tariff strategy 9 months ago, the Republican president said that his main objective with this measure was to reduce the US trade imbalance, something that the new data that came to light in recent hours confirm that he is achieving by a wide margin.

Chinese dependence is reduced

In this context, with the month of March being the highest point of the deficit because many importers bought products before tariffs increased, starting from each new month the deficit fell because imports were reduced and exports increased.

This December figure was higher than the lowest level in October (58.5 billion of deficit), but this was due to temporary movements of gold and to an increase in the import of computer accessories related to investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure. But without these temporary factors, the overall trend shows a significant improvement with the tariffs.

The deficit with China, meanwhile, which reached 295.5 billion dollars in 2024, fell to 202.1 billion in 2025, the lowest level in more than twenty years, since the tariffs redirected trade and reduced dependence on Chinese imports, just as Trump sought.