The monthly U.S. trade deficit in goods and services fell 25.2 percent from December to January as imports slipped but exports saw their biggest gain in nearly five years.
Imports of $356.6 in January were down 0.3 percent from December. Imports of goods declined 1.0 percent to $277.3 billion, with decreases of $3.4 billion for pharmaceutical preparations, $1.5 billion for trucks, buses, and special-purpose vehicles, and $1.1 billion for non-monetary gold, along with a $3.9 billion increase for computers. Services imports edged up 0.3 percent to $79.3 billion, their highest level ever.
Exports surged 5.2 percent to a record $302.1 billion in January. Exports of goods grew 8.1 percent to $195.5 billion, with increases of $4.7 billion for non-monetary gold, $4.1 billion for other precious metals, and $2.6 billion for computers along with a decrease of $2.1 billion for pharmaceutical preparations. Services exports rose 1.1 percent to an all-time high of $106.7 billion.
The monthly U.S. trade deficit tumbled from $72.9 billion in December to $54.5 billion in January. The deficit in goods trade fell 17.6 percent to $81.8 billion while the services trade surplus was up 3.8 percent to $27.3 billion.
The trade deficit in January was down 57.6 percent from a year earlier as imports fell 11.3 percent and exports rose 10.4 percent.
For the month of January 2026, trade deficits and surpluses with major trading partners were as follows.
|
Country/region
|
Deficit
|
% Change
|
Surplus
|
% Change
|
|
Vietnam
|
$19.0 billion
|
+12.4
|
|
|
|
Taiwan
|
$17.3 billion
|
-13.1
|
|
|
|
Mexico
|
$12.8 billion
|
-9.9
|
|
|
|
China
|
$12.5 billion
|
-1.6
|
|
|
|
European Union
|
$6.1 billion
|
-55.8
|
|
|
|
South Korea
|
$6.0 billion
|
+1.7
|
|
|
|
Japan
|
$5.5 billion
|
-5.2
|
|
|
|
Germany
|
$4.9 billion
|
-39.5
|
|
|
|
Italy
|
$3.3 billion
|
+10.0
|
|
|
|
Malaysia
|
$3.2 billion
|
-3.0
|
|
|
|
India
|
$2.8 billion
|
-41.7
|
|
|
|
Canada
|
$2.7 billion
|
-57.1
|
|
|
|
Ireland
|
$2.4 billion
|
+20.0
|
|
|
|
France
|
$1.5 billion
|
-37.5
|
|
|
|
Israel
|
$0.7 billion
|
n/a
|
|
|
|
United Kingdom
|
|
|
$7.0 billion
|
+66.7
|
|
Netherlands
|
|
|
$6.4 billion
|
+14.3
|
|
South/Central America
|
|
|
$4.5 billion
|
+7.1
|
|
Hong Kong
|
|
|
$3.0 billion
|
+25.0
|
|
Switzerland
|
|
|
$3.0 billion
|
n/a
|
|
Saudi Arabia
|
|
|
$2.2 billion
|
n/a
|
|
Brazil
|
|
|
$1.8 billion
|
0
|
|
Singapore
|
|
|
$1.7 billion
|
+88.9
|
|
Australia
|
|
|
$1.7 billion
|
n/a
|
|
Belgium
|
|
|
$0.9 billion
|
-10.0
|
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