The U.S. goods-and-services trade deficit is the amount by which imports exceed exports. In the latest release available on October 7, 2026, the deficit was $105.6 billion for August, compared with a revised $92.8 billion for July. That monthly change reflected imports rising more than exports, alongside a wider goods deficit and a nearly unchanged services surplus. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) publishes the monthly figures and definitions.
What the U.S. trade deficit measures
The monthly headline is the balance of trade in goods and services between U.S. residents and residents of other countries. The arithmetic is exports minus imports: exports are sales to foreign residents, imports are purchases from them. When imports exceed exports, the balance is negative and is called a deficit. As the BEA puts it, “The difference between the exports and imports is the trade balance.”
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The phrase “trade deficit” can refer to different measures, so specify goods and services when discussing the BEA’s monthly headline. A goods-only balance excludes services; the current account is broader still.
Why the deficit changes
The balance changes when exports, imports, or both change. If imports rise more than exports, the deficit widens; if exports rise more than imports, it narrows. Since goods and services are added together, a change in one can be partly or wholly offset by the other.
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What changed in August 2026
The BEA and U.S. Census Bureau reported an August goods-and-services deficit of $105.6 billion, up from July’s revised $92.8 billion. The goods deficit widened by $12.8 billion to $136.6 billion, while the services surplus increased by less than $0.1 billion to $31.0 billion. Imports increased more than exports. These are the proximate accounting movements in that release, not by themselves a full explanation of what drove each underlying flow.
How the annual total can hide opposing movements
For 2025, the goods-and-services deficit was $901.5 billion, just $2.1 billion less than the $903.5 billion deficit in 2024. Under that near-steady total, the goods deficit increased $25.5 billion to $1,240.9 billion, while the services surplus grew $27.6 billion to $339.5 billion. Exports rose $199.8 billion, or 6.2%, and imports rose $197.8 billion, or 4.8%, according to the BEA and Census Bureau’s annual release. The figures show how growth in both directions—and in different categories—can leave the net balance little changed.
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Demand, prices, quantities, and mix
Changes in U.S. demand for foreign output, overseas demand for U.S. output, prices, quantities, and the composition of transactions can all affect the measured flows. The BEA’s 2025 annual release, for example, recorded a $165.9 billion increase in goods imports of capital goods, including a $101.4 billion increase in computers, alongside growth in services exports and imports. Those component figures describe the makeup of the totals; they do not establish one stand-alone cause for the overall deficit or its year-to-year change.
For 2025, the BEA and Census Bureau reported that the real goods deficit increased 5.7%, compared with a 2.1% increase in its nominal counterpart. The real series adjusts for price changes and helps distinguish changes in quantities from changes in dollar values. The monthly headline figures, by contrast, are not adjusted for price changes.
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Trade deficit versus current-account deficit
The current account includes more than trade in goods and services: it also records primary income, such as investment income and employee compensation, and secondary income, such as current transfers. Financial flows are recorded separately in the international accounts. For 2025, the BEA reported a current-account deficit of $1.12 trillion, equal to 3.6% of current-dollar GDP, compared with a $901.5 billion goods-and-services trade deficit. The figures are different measures, not interchangeable labels.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to compare deficit figures accurately
Before comparing two numbers, check that they refer to the same measure and basis:
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- Scope: goods only, goods and services, or the broader current account.
- Period and release vintage: monthly or annual data, and whether a later release revised an earlier estimate. The August 2026 comparison uses July’s revised figure.
- Seasonal adjustment: confirm whether both balances are seasonally adjusted.
- Price basis: nominal dollar totals are not adjusted for price changes; real series account for prices.
- Coverage: an aggregate national balance is not the same as a balance for one country or product category.
A deficit’s sign alone does not establish whether trade is beneficial or harmful, or what it means for competitiveness, jobs, or household welfare. Those conclusions require evidence beyond the accounting balance and its component changes.
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