Background

The monthly U.S. trade deficit in goods and services plummeted 39.1 percent in October to the lowest point since June 2009. Record highs were set in individual deficits with Mexico, Thailand, and Taiwan along with individual surpluses with Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Brazil.

Imports of $331.4 billion in October were down 3.2 percent from September. Imports of goods fell 4.5 percent to $255.0 billion, with decreases of $14.3 billion for pharmaceutical preparations, $3.7 billion for computer accessories, and $1.9 billion for telecommunications equipment. Services imports rose 1.5 percent to $76.3 billion, a record high.

Exports jumped 2.7 percent to an all-time high of $302.0 billion in October. Exports of goods rose 3.7 percent to a record $195.9 billion, with increases of $6.8 billion for non-monetary gold and $3.6 billion for other precious metals along with decreases of $1.8 billion for other goods and $0.9 billion for pharmaceutical preparations. Services exports edged up 0.7 percent to $106.1 billion.

The monthly U.S. trade deficit decreased from $48.1 billion in September to $29.4 billion in October. The deficit in goods trade tumbled 24.5 percent to $59.1 billion, the lowest in nearly ten years, while the services trade surplus was down 1.3 percent to $29.8 billion.

For the year to date the U.S. trade deficit was up 7.7 percent from the same period in 2024 as imports rose 6.6 percent and exports gained 6.3 percent.

For the month of October 2025, trade deficits and surpluses with major trading partners were as follows.

Country/region

Deficit

% Change

Surplus

% Change

Mexico

$17.9 billion

+0.6

 

 

Taiwan

$15.7 billion

+67.0

 

 

Vietnam

$15.0 billion

+4.2

 

 

China

$13.7 billion

+20.2

 

 

European Union

$6.3 billion

-64.6

 

 

Germany

$5.1 billion

+10.9

 

 

Japan

$4.2 billion

+16.7

 

 

Ireland

$3.2 billion

-82.4

 

 

South Korea

$2.9 billion

-14.7

 

 

Canada

$2.3 billion

-51.0

 

 

India

$2.3 billion

-25.8

 

 

Malaysia

$2.0 billion

+11.1

 

 

France

$1.3 billion

+333.3

 

 

Israel

$0.8 billion

+800

 

 

Italy

$0.5 billion

+25.0

 

 

Switzerland

 

 

$7.3 billion

+10.6

United Kingdom

 

 

$6.8 billion

+518.2

South/Central America

 

 

$5.6 billion

+12.0

Netherlands

 

 

$5.1 billion

-13.6

Hong Kong

 

 

$2.8 billion

+33.3

Brazil

 

 

$2.7 billion

+107.7

Singapore

 

 

$1.8 billion

+1700

Australia

 

 

$1.7 billion

+54.5

Belgium

 

 

$1.1 billion

-21.4

Saudi Arabia

 

 

$0.2 billion

-50.0

 

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