U.S. Trade Deficit Hits $105.6 Billion as AI Imports, Tariffs Lift Inbound Goods
U.S. August trade gap hit $105.6B, widest since March 2025, as AI-related imports and tariffs lifted goods inflows.
Imports rose 4.3% for the month, pushing the total imbalance up 13.7% from July, CNBC reported. The deficit was larger than the Dow Jones consensus estimate of $102 billion. The previous wider deficit was the all-time gap in March 2025, recorded just before President Donald Trump's "liberation day" announcement of reciprocal tariffs against U.S. trading partners.
Despite the monthly increase, the year-to-date trade deficit stood at $138.2 billion, nearly 20% below the same period a year earlier, according to the Commerce Department data cited by CNBC. The August widening came amid an influx of AI-related goods and the vagaries of import tariffs, CNBC reported.