The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that the United States’ international trade deficit in goods and services fell to $59.6 billion in August 2025, a decrease of $18.6 billion from July’s revised figure of $78.2 billion.
Exports for August totaled $280.8 billion, up by $0.2 billion compared to July, while imports were $340.4 billion, a drop of $18.4 billion from the previous month.
According to the release, “The August decrease in the goods and services deficit reflected a decrease in the goods deficit of $18.1 billion to $85.6 billion and an increase in the services surplus of $0.5 billion to $26.1 billion.”
So far this year, the goods and services deficit has increased by 25 percent compared with the same period last year, rising by $142.5 billion as exports grew by 5.1 percent ($108.4 billion) and imports rose by 9.2 percent ($250.9 billion).
The three-month moving average for the goods and services deficit declined by $3.9 billion to reach an average of $65.6 billion for June through August 2025.
Goods exports dropped slightly in August, falling by $0.5 billion to total $179.0 billion; key decreases were seen in consumer goods (down $1.5 billion), including pharmaceutical preparations (down $1.2 billion), industrial supplies and materials (down $0.6 billion), and automotive vehicles, parts, and engines (down $0.4 billion). However, capital goods exports increased by $2.4 billion due mainly to computers (up by $2.3 billion), while crude oil exports rose by $0.8 billion.
Exports of services rose by $0.8 billion to reach a total of $101.8 billion for August, with travel contributing an additional $0.3 billion; maintenance and repair services added another increase of the same amount.
Imports of goods saw a notable reduction in August, dropping by $18.6 billion to total at $264.6 billion; this was largely due to lower imports of industrial supplies and materials (down by $11.3 billion), especially nonmonetary gold (down by $9.3 million). Other categories such as consumer goods decreased as well ($3.7 million lower), with declines in jewelry and pharmaceuticals.
Services imports edged up slightly—by just under half a percent—to reach a total value of about $75 billion for August.
In real terms (adjusted for inflation using 2017 dollars), the real goods deficit decreased 16 percent from July’s levels.
Trade balances with major partners shifted: The U.S.-Switzerland trade deficit shrank significantly—from over $7 billion down to just $100 million—as U.S.exports increased while imports dropped sharply; deficits with Canada also fell due both to higher U.S.exports there and lower Canadian shipments into America; meanwhile, surpluses with some trading partners narrowed—for example,the surplus with Britain declined after both reduced American sales there but slightly higher British shipments stateside.
The report noted that all figures are seasonally adjusted unless otherwise specified.The agencies indicated that their schedule for future releases is currently delayed due to recent federal funding lapses,and updates will be published when available at www.census.gov/foreign-trade/schedule.html or www.bea.gov/news/schedule.
“The U.S.Census Bureau and the U.S.Bureau of Economic Analysis are working to update our respective schedules of economic releases, which were affected by the government shutdown.We are consulting with data suppliers to determine the availability of data used to produce our economic indicators.We will publish updated release dates as soon as they are available at www.census.gov/foreign-trade/schedule.html and www.bea.gov/news/schedule.”
When compiling these statistics into broader economic accounts like GDP,the BEA makes specific adjustments related to gold transactions based on domestic production versus industrial use.For more information on these adjustments or detailed breakdowns behind these numbers,sources include www.census.gov/foreign-trade/Press-Release/current_press_release/index.html or www.bea.gov/data/intl-trade-investment/international-trade-goods-and-services.