How big was the US trade deficit in 2024?
The US bought far more from the rest of the world than it sold in 2024. The Bureau of Economic Analysis first reported a goods and services deficit of $918.4 billion, up $133.5 billion (17%) on 2023, with exports of $3,191.6 billion and imports of $4,110.0 billion [4]. Later revisions brought the 2024 figure down to $903.5 billion [6].
The deficit comes almost entirely from goods. On the revised figures the US ran a goods deficit of about $1,215 billion in 2024, partly offset by a surplus of about $312 billion on services such as travel, finance, software and royalties (our arithmetic from the BEA’s 2025 release) [6]. The goods gap was the largest on record at the time [7].
Imports grew faster than exports during the year. Exports rose $119.8 billion (3.9%) while imports rose $253.3 billion (6.6%) [4].
US trade deficit by country in 2024
The monthly trade figures by country cover goods; services by country are published less often and in less detail. On the Census Bureau’s figures, the US had a goods deficit with China of $295.4 billion in 2024, from $143.5 billion of exports against $438.9 billion of imports [5]. Mexico and Vietnam came next. The pattern was already clear by mid-year: as the Econovis infographic by Ehsan Soltani shows, China, Mexico and Vietnam accounted for the three largest deficits in the first six months as well [1][3].
| Partner | Goods deficit, Jan to Jun 2024 | Goods deficit, full year 2024 | Goods deficit, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | $127.7bn | $295.4bn | $202.1bn |
| Mexico | $82.7bn | $171.8bn | $196.9bn |
| Vietnam | $56.6bn | $123.5bn | $178.2bn |
| Ireland | $38.2bn | $86.7bn | $114.2bn |
| Germany | $42.3bn | $84.8bn | $73.0bn |
| Taiwan | $29.9bn | $73.9bn | $146.8bn |
| Japan | $34.0bn | $68.5bn | $63.9bn |
| South Korea | $34.1bn | $66.0bn | $56.4bn |
| Canada | $29.2bn | $63.3bn | $46.4bn |
| India | $23.7bn | $45.7bn | $58.2bn |
Source: US Census Bureau year to date tables for June and December 2024 [3][5] and the BEA annual 2025 release [6]. Goods only, Census basis.
The European Union as a whole is the second biggest deficit after China if you count it as one partner: $235.6 billion in 2024 [4]. Within it, Ireland and Germany carry the largest gaps.
The total goods deficit for the first half of 2024 was $541.3 billion on the Census table, from exports of $1,026.4 billion and imports of $1,567.7 billion (our arithmetic) [3]. China alone made up about 24% of it.
Which countries does the US have a trade surplus with?
The US sells more goods than it buys to a smaller and mostly lower-value group of partners. The Netherlands is the largest by a wide margin: $27.1 billion in the first half of 2024 and $55.5 billion for the full year [3][5]. That is largely a port effect. Rotterdam is Europe’s biggest port, so a lot of US goods heading for other EU countries are recorded as exports to the Netherlands.
The other large surpluses in 2024 were with Hong Kong ($21.9 billion), the United Arab Emirates ($19.5 billion), Australia ($17.9 billion), the UK ($11.9 billion), Panama ($10.1 billion), Brazil ($7.4 billion), Belgium ($6.3 billion) and the Dominican Republic ($5.6 billion) [5]. In the first half of the year the ten largest surpluses added up to $82.0 billion, against $498.4 billion for the ten largest deficits (our sums) [3].
Why the deficits with China, Mexico and Vietnam are so large
The biggest deficits are with countries that make the consumer goods, electronics, machinery and vehicles Americans buy. In 2024 the US imported about three times as much from China as it exported there, and more than ten times as much from Vietnam ($136.6 billion against $13.1 billion) [5].
Vietnam’s deficit has grown quickly, which is generally put down to companies moving factories and assembly out of China after the US put tariffs on Chinese goods from 2018. Mexico benefits from the same shift and from the North American trade agreement. In 2024 it was the largest source of US imports, at $505.9 billion, ahead of China at $438.9 billion [5].
Canada is different. It was the biggest market for US exports in 2024, buying $349.4 billion of American goods, but the US still ran a $63.3 billion deficit with it [5], much of it from imports of Canadian oil and other energy. Ireland’s deficit comes mainly from medicines and other products made at the Irish plants of multinational pharmaceutical and technology firms.
Goods versus services
Country charts like the one above cover goods only, which overstates the overall gap. The US is the world’s biggest exporter of services and runs a large surplus on them, $311.9 billion in 2024 on revised figures [6].
A trade deficit is not the same as losing money. It means a country is spending more abroad than it earns from exports, which is balanced by foreigners investing in US shares, bonds, property and businesses. Economists disagree about how much it matters, and many argue that the deficit with any one country says little about whether trade is fair, because supply chains run through many countries before a product reaches a shop.
How the trade deficit changed in 2025
In 2025, the year the new US tariffs came in, the total barely moved but the mix of partners changed a lot. The goods and services deficit was $901.5 billion, almost exactly the same as 2024, while the goods deficit grew 2.1% to $1,240.9 billion [6].
What changed was the partner list. The deficit with China fell by $93.3 billion to $202.1 billion, about 32% lower (our arithmetic), while the deficits with Vietnam ($178.2 billion), Taiwan ($146.8 billion) and Mexico ($196.9 billion) all rose [6]. The European Union, at $218.8 billion, overtook China as the largest deficit when counted as one partner [6].
Questions about the US trade deficit in 2024
What was the US trade deficit in 2024?
$918.4 billion for goods and services as first reported in February 2025, later revised to $903.5 billion [4][6]. The goods deficit alone was about $1.2 trillion.
Which country has the largest trade deficit with the US?
China, at $295.4 billion of goods in 2024 [5]. In 2025 China was still the largest single country at $202.1 billion, with Mexico close behind at $196.9 billion [6].
What was the US trade deficit with China in 2024?
$295.4 billion in goods: the US exported $143.5 billion to China and imported $438.9 billion [5]. In the first half of 2024 alone it was $127.7 billion [3].
Which countries does the US have a trade surplus with?
The Netherlands ($55.5 billion in 2024), Hong Kong, the UAE, Australia, the UK, Panama, Brazil and Belgium were the largest [5].
What were total US imports and exports in 2024?
Including services, imports were $4,110.0 billion and exports $3,191.6 billion as first reported [4]. For goods only, the Census Bureau put imports at $3,267.4 billion and exports at $2,065.2 billion [5].
Sources
- Ehsan Soltani (Econovis), U.S. Goods Trade Surplus and Deficit with Major Partners in the First Half of 2024, Voronoi, 14 August 2024 (the infographic, using Census data).
- u/EconomySoltani, the same infographic on r/Infographics.
- US Census Bureau, Top Trading Partners, June 2024 (year to date).
- US Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services, December and Annual 2024, 5 February 2025.
- US Census Bureau, Top Trading Partners, December 2024 (year to date).
- US Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services, December and Annual 2025, 19 February 2026.
- The New York Times, U.S. Trade Deficit Hit Record in 2024 as Imports Surged, 5 February 2025.
Last reviewed 3 November 2026
