By Lucia Mutikani
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. trade deficit surged to nearly a 2-1/2-year high in September as businesses boosted imports to meet robust domestic demand and in anticipation of higher tariffs on goods.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has promised to impose a 60% tariff on Chinese goods and at least a 10% levy on all other imports if he wins Tuesday’s election. Trump is locked in a tight race for the White House with Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.
“We expect imports to outpace exports in the short term, as investment in data centers and semiconductors supports capital goods imports and a strong consumer pushes retailers to build out inventories,” said Matthew Martin, a senior U.S. economist at Oxford Economics.
“The outcome of the election could add upside risk to imports if businesses seek to pre-empt potential tariff increases in the event of a second Donald Trump presidency.”
The trade gap increased 19.2% to $84.4 billion, the highest level since April 2022, from a revised $70.8 billion in August, with exports also falling during the period, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis said on Tuesday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the trade deficit would swell to $84.1 billion from the previously reported $70.4 billion in August.
Imports jumped 3.0% to a record $352.3 billion. Goods imports advanced 4.0% to $285.0 billion, the highest level since March 2022. They were driven by a $4.0 billion rise in imports of consumer goods, reflecting mostly pharmaceutical preparations.
Capital goods imports increased $2.8 billion to an all-time high, lifted by computers and semiconductors. Imports of industrial supplies and materials, which include crude oil, rose $2.2 billion. Imports of automotive vehicles, parts and engines gained $1.2 billion.
Food imports at $18.8 billion were the highest on record. But imports of services fell $0.6 billion to $67.3 billion, amid a $0.8 billion decline in charges for the use of intellectual property. Travel services imports fell $0.2 billion, but those of transport services rose $0.3 billion.
Exports dropped 1.2% to $267.9 billion. Goods exports fell 1.8% to $176.0 billion, weighed down by a decline of $1.9 billion in capital goods, mostly civilian aircraft. Consumer goods exports fell $1.4 billion amid a drop in pharmaceutical preparations.
Exports of industrial supplies and materials decreased $1.4 billion, with crude oil falling $1.3 billion and other petroleum products easing $0.5 billion.
Exports of services slipped $0.1 billion to $91.9 billion, reflecting a $0.2 billion dip in maintenance and repair services. Government goods and services increased $0.1 billion while transport services edged up $0.1 billion.
The goods trade deficit widened 14.9% to $109.0 billion, also the highest since March 2022. When adjusted for inflation, the goods trade deficit increased 13.1% to $100.1 billion.
The goods trade deficit with China widened to $26.9 billion from $24.7 billion in August.
Trade subtracted 0.56 percentage point from gross domestic product in the third quarter. It has been a drag on economic growth for three straight quarters. The economy grew at a 2.8% annualized rate in the July-September quarter.
(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Paul Simao)
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