US trade deficit widens in May on record goods imports

Cargo containers at the Port of Seattle in Washington State on Dec. 30, 2025. Imports of foreign goods, including pharmaceuticals and equipment for data centers, hit a record high in May 2026, pushing the monthly trade deficit to its highest level in over a year. (Ruth Fremson/The New York Times)

By ANA SWANSON

The United States trade deficit in goods and services widened to $77.6 billion in May as the U.S. imported more goods than it sold abroad.

Imports rose, climbing 3.3% from the previous month, to $395.3 billion, as the United States imported more foreign pharmaceuticals, cellphones, cars and equipment to fill out new data centers.

U.S. exports of goods and services fell 3.2% in the month, to $317.7 billion, according to data the Commerce Department released earlier this week. That included exports of gold, natural gas, computers and pharmaceuticals, which all fell from the previous month. The drop in goods exports was offset somewhat by an increase in service exports, including more revenue earned from foreigners traveling to the United States.

Exports and imports of services both hit a record in May, as did U.S. petroleum exports. Goods imports also hit a record high in the month.

The combination increased the monthly trade deficit, the gap between what the United States imports and what it exports. The U.S. trade deficit in goods and services bounced up more than 42% from the prior month.

The Trump administration has sought to reduce the trade deficit with a vast swath of tariffs on foreign goods. Those levies have caused imports, exports and the trade deficit to fluctuate wildly since President Donald Trump came into office.

On average, the monthly trade deficit in goods has been $96 billion in the 16 months since Trump returned to the White House. That’s down about 5% from the monthly average in the 16 months before his second term began.

Imports of some goods have fallen, but strong U.S. demand for artificial intelligence technology, foreign medicines and other goods not made in the U.S. have helped to prop up trade.

The war in Iran has also affected trade, as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz scrambled supply chains for oil fertilizer, product packaging and helium. In April, the U.S. trade deficit fell on a monthly basis, as the closure boosted U.S. exports of oil and petroleum to a new monthly record.

U.S. importers are bracing for another significant shift in trade policy. The administration has been working on a new round of levies after the Supreme Court in February struck down the double-digit tariffs Trump imposed globally last year.

In February, the administration issued a flat 10% duty on every trading partner as a stopgap measure, but the authority for that tariff is expected to expire this month.

To replace it, the Trump administration has been preparing two major trade investigations using a provision known as Section 301, which would most likely return tariff rates to the levels seen before the Supreme Court decision. One investigation relates to other countries’ restrictions on importing forced labor goods, while the other looks at the tactics countries use to unfairly prop up their factory sectors.