The U.S. goods trade deficit declined sharply in April from a record in March as the effects of front-running President Donald Trump’s tariffs faded.
According to an advance estimate from the Census Bureau, the goods trade gap plummeted 46 percent, to $87.6 billion, from the all-time high of $162.25 billion registered in March. This represented the smallest trade deficit for goods since December 2023.
While economists had anticipated a substantial slowdown, last month’s reading came in better than the consensus forecast of $141.5 billion.
Goods imports tumbled 19.8 percent, or $68.4 billion, to $276.1 billion. Exports of goods rose by 3.4 percent, or $6.3 billion, to $188.5 billion.
Advance retail and wholesale inventories were virtually unchanged at $803.5 billion and $906.9 billion, respectively….