US Trade Gap Remains Near Record High

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed into law a one-year extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a preferential trade program for Africa, running through December 31 and applied retroactively from September 30, 2025, according to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. The move restores duty-free access to the U.S. market for eligible Sub-Saharan African countries after the program lapsed in September. First enacted in 2000, AGOA allows qualifying countries to export more than 1,800 products to the United States without tariffs, supporting trade, investment, and employment across the region.

The trade deficit in the US widened sharply to $56.8 billion in November 2025, the highest in four months, compared to a $29.2 billion gap in October which was the lowest since 2009, and much higher than forecasts of a $40.5 billion shortfall. The figure underscores pronounced monthly swings amid President Trump administration’s frequently changing tariff stance. Imports increased 5% to $348.9 billion, led by a $6.7 billion jump in pharmaceutical preparations after a big drop in the previous month. Purchases of computers also increased by $6.6 billion. Meanwhile, exports were down 3.6% to $292.1 billion, led by falls in nonmonetary gold, pharmaceutical preparations and crude oil. The deficit widened with Vietnam ($16.2 billion vs $15.0 billion), China ($14.7 billion vs $13.7 billion) and the European Union ($14.5 billion vs $6.3 billion), while it narrowed slightly with Mexico ($17.8 billion vs $17.9 billion) and Taiwan ($15.6 billion vs $15.7 billion).

The US trade deficit narrowed sharply to $29.4 billion in October 2025, the smallest gap since June 2009, down from a revised $48.1 billion in September and well below forecasts of a $58.1 billion shortfall. The implementation of tariffs led to significant swings in trade flows, particularly in non-monetary gold and pharmaceutical products. Imports declined 3.2% to a 21-month low of $331.4 billion, led by a big fall in pharmaceutical preparations and to a smaller extent nonmonetary gold and transport. On the other hand, purchases went up for computer accessories, telecommunications equipment, and computers. Exports rose 2.6% to a record $302 billion, led by a surge in nonmonetary gold and other precious metals while a fall was seen in pharmaceuticals and government goods and services. The largest gaps were recorded with Mexico ($-17.9 billion), Taiwan ($-15.7 billion), Vietnam ($-15 billion) and China ($-13.7 billion). The trade gap with the EU narrowed sharply to $6.3 billion.