The U.S. trade deficit widened to a record high in March as companies accelerated their imports ahead of U.S. tariffs taking effect.
Bureau of Economic Analysis data released on May 6 show that the international trade gap—a measure of when a country’s imports exceed its exports—reached an all-time high of $140.5 billion. This is up by 14 percent from a revised $123.2 billion in February.
The monthly international trade deficit includes goods and services.
Market watchers had anticipated a trade shortfall of $137 billion.
Imports increased by 4.4 percent to a record high of $419 billion as businesses bolstered their purchases from abroad before the government made further tariff announcements….