U.S. Trade Deficit Grows to $88.6B in July

The U.S. trade deficit for goods and services grew by more than 24% in July compared to June, with imports outpacing exports by $88.6 billion.

According to The New York Times, the July trade deficit was larger than the average deficit for the year before President Donald Trump's second term, and reached its highest level since the White House announced its "Liberation Day" tariffs in April 2025. Imports increased by nearly 3% from the previous month, while exports fell by more than 2%. 

Capital goods imports — which includes computers, computer accessories and semiconductors — rose by 11.4% month-to-month to a record $140.2 billion, as companies continued to ramp up spending on artificial intelligence. Broken out by individual products, computer imports jumped by nearly 25% from June, while semiconductor imports were up by more than 10%.

In a September 2 interview with CNBC, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick blamed the increase in imports on a Supreme Court ruling that invalidated Trump's tariffs enacted under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Lutnick went on to claim that imports would tick back down once the administration finalizes new tariffs in the weeks ahead.