Trade Deficit Surges In 11.5 Percent In August

Tariffs did not and will not eliminate trade deficits.

The Advance Economic Indicators Report for August was a trade disaster.

Advance International Trade in Goods

The international trade deficit was $132.6 billion in August, up $13.7 billion from $118.9 billion in July.
Exports of goods for August were $203.4 billion, $3.7 billion more than July exports.
Imports of goods for August were $336.1 billion, $17.4 billion more than July imports.

Advance Wholesale Inventories

Wholesale inventories for August, adjusted for seasonal variations and trading day differences, but not for price changes, were estimated at an end-of-month level of $965.7 billion, up 0.7 percent (±0.2 percent) from July 2026, and were up 6.6 percent (±1.1 percent) from August 2025.
The June 2026 to July 2026 percentage change was unrevised from the preliminary estimate of up 1.3 percent (±0.2 percent).

Advance Retail Inventories

Retail inventories for August, adjusted for seasonal variations and trading day differences, but not for price changes, were estimated at an end-of-month level of $881.6 billion, up 0.3 percent (±0.2 percent) from July 2026, and were up 4.8 percent (±0.7 percent) from August 2025.
The June 2026 to July 2026 percentage change was unrevised from up 0.8 percent (±0.2 percent).

Goods Exports and Imports