The U.S. trade deficit six months into President Donald Trump’s tariffs tumbled to its lowest level since mid-2009, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.
With exports rising and imports falling, the trade shortfall was just $29.4 billion for October, down 39% from the prior month. Exports increased 2.6% while imports slipped 3.2%.
The total was the lowest since the second quarter of 2009 as the U.S. was just coming out of the financial crisis and the Great Recession.
The numbers reflect the trade activity since President Donald Trump levied his “liberation day” tariffs in April 2025. Economists and policymakers worried that the levies would work against the U.S. by inviting retaliation and slowing the movement of goods and services around the world. However, Trump has backed off many of the most severe tariff threats he made, and the data shows a strong market for U.S. products.
To be sure, the year-to-date deficit still was 7.7% higher than the same period in 2024.
