US Trade Deficit Chart, Goods Deficit from 1992 to 2024

Key points

• The chart tracks the US goods trade deficit as a 12-month rolling sum from 1992 to the third quarter of 2024.
• The deficit grew from about $97 billion in 1992 to $447 billion in 2000 and $837 billion in 2006, according to Census Bureau annual figures [2].
• It fell to $510 billion in 2009 after the global financial crisis, then rose again, passing $1 trillion for the first time in 2021 and reaching $1,175 billion in 2022 [2].
• After a dip to $1,057 billion in 2023, it climbed to $1,215 billion in 2024 and $1,241 billion in 2025 [2].
• Econovis marks eight events on the chart, from the end of the Cold War to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The US trade deficit chart in text

Title: Trends in the U.S. Goods Trade Deficit from 1992 to Q3 2024. Vertical axis: U.S. Goods Trade Deficit (Billion US$, 12-Month Rolling Sum), from 0 to 1,400. The horizontal axis is labelled 1992, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, 2020 and 3Q2024. A dark line traces the deficit over a shaded area. Sources: BEA, U.S. Census. Credit: www.econovis.net and @econovisuals.

The line carries no data labels. Read against the axis, it rises to about $450 billion around 2000, about $850 billion in the mid 2000s, drops to about $500 billion in 2009, and reaches its highest point, about $1,200 billion, in 2022, before ending at roughly $1,150 billion in the third quarter of 2024. These are our approximate readings.

Events marked on the chart, left to right:

• Early 1990s: End of Cold War
• 1994: NAFTA Establishment
• 1995: WTO Establishment
• 2001: China Accession to WTO
• Surging Oil Trade Deficit, a highlighted area over the mid 2000s
• 2008: Global Financial Crisis
• 2018: The Onset of the U.S.-China Trade War
• 2020: COVID-19 Pandemic

Annual goods trade deficit, 1992 to 2025

A 12-month rolling sum at the end of December equals the calendar year total, so the Census Bureau’s annual balance of payments figures match the chart at each year end. Selected years, with 2025 added for context [2]:

The goods deficit is only part of the trade balance. The US runs a surplus on services, which was $339 billion in 2025, so the total goods and services deficit that year was smaller, at $901 billion [2]. The Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Census Bureau publish these figures monthly in their joint international trade release [3].

What Econovis says drives the trend

In the post that accompanies the chart, Econovis says the deficit has steadily expanded over three decades despite large swings, rising sharply during the oil price shock from 2002 to 2008, falling during the 2008 global financial crisis and increasing again during the COVID-19 pandemic [1]. It lists the drivers as trade liberalisation, globalisation, offshoring, free trade agreements, shifts in global oil markets and China’s emergence as a major trading partner [1]. These are the creator’s explanations; the chart itself shows timing, not cause and effect.

Notes on this infographic

• Goods only. The chart covers trade in goods, not services, so it shows a larger deficit than the headline goods and services figure.
• Rolling sums. Each point adds up the previous 12 months, which smooths monthly swings. Mid-year values will not match any calendar year total.
• Later data. The chart ends in the third quarter of 2024. Census figures published since show the goods deficit at $1,215 billion for 2024 and $1,241 billion for 2025 [2].
• Revisions. Census and BEA revise past trade figures, so values in the table may differ slightly from those Econovis used.

Questions about the US trade deficit

Is the US trade deficit coming down?

Not on an annual basis in the latest full-year data. The goods deficit fell from $1,175 billion in 2022 to $1,057 billion in 2023, then rose to $1,215 billion in 2024 and $1,241 billion in 2025. The total goods and services deficit was $904 billion in 2024 and $901 billion in 2025 [2].

When was the last time the US had a trade surplus?

1975, when the US had a goods and services surplus of $12.4 billion and a goods surplus of $8.9 billion. Every year since 1976 has been in deficit [2].

When did the US trade deficit pass $1 trillion?

The US goods trade deficit passed $1 trillion for the first time in 2021, when it reached $1,083.2 billion, according to Census Bureau balance of payments figures [2]. It rose to $1,174.6 billion in 2022, dipped to $1,057.5 billion in 2023 and then climbed to $1,215.4 billion in 2024 [2]. In 1992 it was $96.9 billion [2].

Why has the US trade deficit grown?

Econovis lists the drivers as trade liberalisation, globalisation, offshoring, free trade agreements, shifts in global oil markets and China's emergence as a major trading partner [1]. It says the deficit rose sharply during the oil price shock from 2002 to 2008, fell during the 2008 global financial crisis and increased again during the COVID-19 pandemic [1]. These are the creator's explanations, as the chart itself shows timing, not cause and effect.

Sources

1. Econovis, Trends in the U.S. Goods Trade Deficit from 1992 to Q3 2024, 4 January 2025. The creator’s post with this chart.
2. US Census Bureau, U.S. Trade in Goods and Services, Balance of Payments (BOP) Basis, 1960 through 2025 (PDF).
3. US Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services.

Last reviewed 30 October 2026