U.S. News: Trade Gap Hits 17-Month High —— By Konrad Putzier and Anthony DeBarros

The U.S. trade deficit widened in August to its biggest in more than a year, with the U.S. buying more products like crude oil, gold and semiconductors from abroad.

The trade gap in goods and services widened by 14% in August from the prior month to a seasonally adjusted number of roughly $106 billion, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.

That marked the highest level since March 2025, when companies were racing to import goods early in President Trump's second term to get ahead of tariffs.

Imports in crude oil and nonmonetary gold saw big monthly gains, along with semiconductors. The data-center boom has been a major driver of the trade deficit this year, with imports of semiconductors, computers and computer accessories up a total of $234 billion in the first eight months of this year, compared with the same period last year.

Data-center spending pushed the trade deficit to "quite strong levels only exceeded by the front-running days" of 2025 when companies were rushing to get ahead of tariffs, said Brad Setser, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Electronics have been largely exempt from the Trump administration's tariffs. "That's the key thing," Setser said.

Crude-oil imports from Canada rose by more than 8 million barrels in August. The U.S. monthly trade deficit with its northern neighbor rose to $7.1 billion from $3 billion in July. The increase came amid new U.S. tariffs on a range of Canadian goods.

The trade deficit for goods reached about $137 billion in August. Still, through the first eight months of the year, the goods deficit was about $110 billion smaller than the same period in 2025.

U.S. exports also grew in August, but at a slower pace than imports. Crude and fuel oil exports rose by $3.2 billion amid high oil prices and the continued disruption of global oil markets from the war in Iran.

Trade deficits have shifted abruptly from month to month during the Trump administration, as companies have responded to rapid changes in trade policy. The goods and services trade deficit for the year so far is about 20% smaller than the same time a year ago.

In February, the Supreme Court overruled Trump's use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to enact broad global tariffs. But the president has turned to other authorities to try to tamp down imports into the U.S. In late July, Trump rolled out new tariffs using a different legal authority.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 06, 2026 20:34 ET (00:34 GMT)