March 2026

Released May 05, 2026


-$60.3B
Total trade balance
Mar 2026
-$88.7B
Goods trade balance
Mar 2026
$28.4B
Services trade balance
Mar 2026


Contents

Balance of payments

Census basis

Exports

Imports

Import duties

Prices and inflation


Balance of payments


In March 2026:


  • In March, the United States ran a total trade deficit of $60.31 billion.
    • The trade deficit is up $2.53 billion from February.
    • The trade deficit is 3 percent above the 12-month average.
    • In trade of goods, the U.S. ran a trade deficit of $88.71 billion, up $4.09 billion from February and 3 percent above the 12-month average.
    • In trade of services, the U.S. ran a trade surplus of $28.41 billion, up $1.56 billion from February and 3 percent above the 12-month average.


  • Total exports was $320.86 billion, up $6.19 billion from February and 9 percent above the 12-month average.
    • Total exports of goods was $213.46 billion, up $6.48 billion from February.
    • Total exports of services was $107.40 billion, down $299.00 million from February.


  • Total imports was $381.16 billion, up $8.72 billion from February and 8 percent above the 12-month average.
    • Total imports of goods was $302.17 billion, up $10.57 billion from February.
    • Total imports of services was $78.99 billion, down $1.86 billion from February.


From March 2025 to March 2026:


  • Over the 12 months through March 2026, the U.S. ran a total trade deficit of $700.49 billion.
    • In trade of goods, the U.S. ran a trade deficit of $1.03 trillion.
    • In trade of services, the U.S. ran a trade surplus of $331.39 billion.


  • Total exports was $3.53 trillion.
    • Total exports of goods was $2.28 trillion.
    • Total exports of services was $1.25 trillion.


  • Total imports was $4.23 trillion.
    • Total imports of goods was $3.31 trillion.
    • Total imports of services was $923.34 billion.




Table 1. Trade balance

Mar 2026 Mar 2025 Y/Y difference 12-month average Past 12 months
Goods
Exports $213.46B $183.90B 16.07% $189.62B $2.28T
– Imports $302.17B $345.96B -12.66% $275.61B $3.31T
Goods trade balance -$88.71B -$162.06B -45.26% -$85.99B -$1.03T
Services
Exports $107.40B $99.23B 8.23% $104.56B $1.25T
– Imports $78.99B $73.03B 8.17% $76.95B $923.34B
Services trade balance $28.41B $26.20B 8.40% $27.62B $331.39B
Total
Exports $320.86B $283.13B 13.32% $294.18B $3.53T
– Imports $381.16B $418.99B -9.03% $352.55B $4.23T
Total trade balance -$60.31B -$135.86B -55.61% -$58.37B -$700.49B


Census basis


The Bureau of Economic Analysis adjusted the March 2026 Census basis figures for goods exports by about 0.00 percent, and for goods imports by about 0.01 percent. See the Notes section for more information about these adjustments. This section reports the trade figures for goods as collected by the U.S. Census Bureau without adjustment unless specified otherwise.








Table 2. Largest deficits by country

Trading partner Past 12 months Share of past 12 months Mar 2026 Mar 2025 Y/Y difference
Mexico -$194.42B 18.96% -$18.43B -$18.62B -1.03%
Vietnam -$193.35B 18.86% -$18.97B -$13.55B 40.05%
Taiwan -$177.28B 17.29% -$19.07B -$7.76B 145.69%
China -$164.73B 16.07% -$9.76B -$17.93B -45.57%
Thailand -$83.94B 8.19% -$9.57B -$5.22B 83.23%
Ireland -$66.62B 6.50% -$2.95B -$29.33B -89.94%
Germany -$63.69B 6.21% -$5.45B -$7.52B -27.64%
Japan -$60.04B 5.86% -$4.47B -$6.17B -27.56%
South Korea -$57.96B 5.65% -$4.67B -$6.33B -26.21%
India -$51.51B 5.02% -$4.02B -$7.42B -45.86%


Table 3. Largest surpluses by country

Trading partner Past 12 months Share of past 12 months Mar 2026 Mar 2025 Y/Y difference
Netherlands $68.49B -6.68% $7.42B $4.48B 65.41%
United Kingdom $47.42B -4.63% $6.54B $1.69B 287.30%
Hong Kong $40.32B -3.93% $6.10B $1.94B 214.27%
Switzerland $35.23B -3.44% $5.55B -$14.40B -138.54%
United Arab Emirates $25.66B -2.50% $1.41B $1.58B -10.66%
Brazil $17.41B -1.70% $1.66B $756.05M 119.08%
Australia $13.89B -1.35% $2.51B -$941.61M -366.82%
Singapore $11.40B -1.11% $2.30B $525.76M 336.70%
Belgium $10.10B -0.98% $545.92M $6.97M 7,727.41%
Panama $8.14B -0.79% $768.41M $707.99M 8.53%


Exports




Table 4. Top exports by good

Exported good Past 12 months Share of past 12 months Mar 2026 Mar 2025 Y/Y difference
Civilian aircraft, engines, equipment, and parts $157.24B 6.96% $14.27B $12.53B 13.85%
Pharmaceutical preparations $120.38B 5.33% $10.74B $10.49B 2.40%
Nonmonetary gold $118.46B 5.24% $17.72B $5.58B 217.75%
Crude oil $98.28B 4.35% $10.66B $9.14B 16.62%
Petroleum products, other $75.52B 3.34% $8.29B $6.45B 28.59%
Semiconductors $72.24B 3.20% $7.41B $5.63B 31.47%
Industrial machines, other $69.64B 3.08% $6.34B $6.18B 2.66%
Computer accessories $64.56B 2.86% $7.68B $5.12B 49.86%
Gas-natural $57.04B 2.53% $5.31B $4.91B 8.07%
Electric apparatus $56.59B 2.51% $5.43B $5.30B 2.39%


  • Over the 12 months through March 2026, the U.S. exported the most to Mexico ($347.18 billion), Canada ($327.56 billion), and United Kingdom ($109.51 billion).
  • Together, these countries accounted for 34.72 percent of the value of all U.S. exports over those 12 months.



Table 5. Top exports by destination country

Export destination Past 12 months Share of past 12 months Mar 2026 Mar 2025 Y/Y difference
Mexico $347.18B 15.37% $32.78B $29.36B 11.62%
Canada $327.56B 14.50% $31.44B $31.79B -1.10%
United Kingdom $109.51B 4.85% $12.53B $8.73B 43.52%
China $101.87B 4.51% $11.10B $11.46B -3.10%
Netherlands $98.89B 4.38% $9.49B $8.53B 11.31%
Switzerland $89.70B 3.97% $9.69B $4.16B 132.64%
Germany $83.98B 3.72% $8.10B $8.13B -0.35%
Japan $82.60B 3.66% $8.11B $7.29B 11.30%
South Korea $71.35B 3.16% $8.18B $5.80B 40.95%
Taiwan $57.50B 2.55% $5.54B $4.64B 19.31%


  • Over the 12 months through March 2026, the port districts with the highest exports were New York City, NY ($281.70 billion), Houston-Galveston, TX ($245.71 billion), and Laredo, TX ($166.60 billion).




Table 6. Top exports by U.S. port district

Customs district Past 12 months Share of past 12 months Air Vessel Road, rail, and other
New York City, NY $281.70B 12.47% $234.45B $45.54B $1.71B
Houston-Galveston, TX $245.71B 10.88% $13.00B $232.50B $207.41M
Laredo, TX $166.60B 7.38% $507.77M $652.38M $165.44B
New Orleans, LA $151.96B 6.73% $65.73B $83.51B $2.72B
Los Angeles, CA $135.80B 6.01% $79.13B $55.64B $1.03B
Detroit, MI $132.19B 5.85% $4.16B $823.85M $127.21B
Chicago, IL $98.61B 4.37% $96.74B $629.04M $1.24B
Low Value $97.80B 4.33% $0.00 $0.00 $97.80B
Miami, FL $87.13B 3.86% $56.40B $28.88B $1.85B
San Francisco, CA $72.49B 3.21% $48.26B $24.15B $74.42M


Imports




Table 7. Top imports by good

Imported good Past 12 months Share of past 12 months Mar 2026 Mar 2025 Y/Y difference
Computers $262.84B 8.00% $29.42B $12.61B 133.23%
Pharmaceutical preparations $217.78B 6.63% $14.73B $52.39B -71.88%
Passenger cars, new and used $167.57B 5.10% $16.33B $20.43B -20.09%
Computer accessories $155.68B 4.74% $18.02B $13.01B 38.50%
Other parts and accessories of vehicles $136.55B 4.16% $12.34B $12.61B -2.16%
Crude oil $136.27B 4.15% $12.44B $11.70B 6.33%
Telecommunications equipment $126.11B 3.84% $13.01B $8.84B 47.29%
Electric apparatus $105.04B 3.20% $8.85B $9.24B -4.28%
U.S. goods returned, and reimports $104.81B 3.19% $9.45B $9.11B 3.70%
Cell phones and other household goods, n.e.c. $102.26B 3.11% $8.49B $10.59B -19.87%


  • Over the 12 months through March 2026, the U.S. imported the most from Mexico ($541.61 billion), Canada ($365.62 billion), and China ($266.59 billion).
  • Together, these countries accounted for 35.74 percent of the value of all U.S. imports over those 12 months.



Table 8. Top imports by country of origin

Import origin Past 12 months Share of past 12 months Mar 2026 Mar 2025 Y/Y difference
Mexico $541.61B 16.49% $51.20B $47.98B 6.71%
Canada $365.62B 11.13% $34.09B $35.67B -4.43%
China $266.59B 8.12% $20.86B $29.38B -29.01%
Taiwan $234.78B 7.15% $24.61B $12.40B 98.38%
Vietnam $210.02B 6.40% $20.54B $14.77B 39.00%
Germany $147.68B 4.50% $13.55B $15.65B -13.47%
Japan $142.64B 4.34% $12.58B $13.46B -6.51%
South Korea $129.31B 3.94% $12.85B $12.14B 5.91%
Thailand $104.08B 3.17% $11.88B $7.07B 68.07%
India $99.15B 3.02% $8.36B $11.19B -25.25%


  • Over the 12 months through March 2026, the port districts with the highest imports were Los Angeles, CA ($369.41 billion), Chicago, IL ($335.18 billion), and Laredo, TX ($319.00 billion).




Table 9. Top imports by U.S. port district

Customs district Past 12 months Share of past 12 months Air Vessel Road, rail, and other
Los Angeles, CA $369.41B 11.25% $114.35B $254.68B $383.24M
Chicago, IL $335.18B 10.21% $233.29B $52.35B $49.54B
Laredo, TX $319.00B 9.71% $7.29B $3.68B $308.03B
New York City, NY $298.96B 9.10% $132.97B $161.21B $4.78B
Savannah, GA $176.75B 5.38% $71.47B $105.07B $200.50M
San Francisco, CA $159.85B 4.87% $108.63B $51.08B $135.06M
Detroit, MI $142.32B 4.33% $2.22B $7.88B $132.22B
El Paso, TX $140.62B 4.28% $15.78B $2.94B $121.90B
Cleveland, OH $134.25B 4.09% $93.18B $35.99B $5.08B
New Orleans, LA $126.79B 3.86% $66.91B $55.72B $4.16B


Import duties







Table 10. Top calculated duties by good

Imported good Calculated duty Average applied duty rate
Passenger cars, new and used $30.31B 18.08%
Other parts and accessories of vehicles $19.17B 14.28%
Electric apparatus $15.40B 15.39%
Apparel, textiles, nonwool or cotton $14.45B 29.33%
Industrial machines, other $12.63B 15.64%
Cell phones and other household goods, n.e.c. $11.27B 10.47%
Apparel, household goods - cotton $10.27B 25.36%
Toys, games, and sporting goods $7.92B 20.97%
Finished metal shapes $6.82B 20.94%
Furniture, household goods, etc. $6.77B 19.11%



Table 11. Top average applied duty rates by good

Imported good Calculated duty Average applied duty rate
Iron and steel, advanced $5.34B 45.15%
Iron and steel products, n.e.c. $3.58B 39.17%
Bauxite and aluminum $6.00B 36.49%
Iron and steel mill products $5.04B 32.80%
Cookware, cutlery, tools $3.03B 29.68%
Apparel, textiles, nonwool or cotton $14.45B 29.33%
Glassware, chinaware $705.30M 27.72%
Camping apparel and gear $3.74B 27.69%
Drilling & oilfield equipment $1.23B 27.28%
Footwear $4.51B 25.67%


  • Over the 12 months through March 2026, the top countries of origin by calculated duty revenue were China ($92.04 billion), Mexico ($22.86 billion), and Vietnam ($21.80 billion).

  • The average applied duty rates on the goods from those countries were 36.05 percent, 4.23 percent, and 10.22 percent, respectively.




Table 12. Top calculated duties by country of origin

Country of origin Calculated duty Average applied duty rate
China $92.04B 36.05%
Mexico $22.86B 4.23%
Vietnam $21.80B 10.22%
Japan $19.14B 13.60%
Germany $15.48B 10.53%
South Korea $14.24B 11.22%
India $12.76B 12.92%
Canada $11.41B 3.12%
Thailand $8.02B 7.75%
Taiwan $7.38B 3.21%



Table 13. Top average applied duty rates by country of origin

Country of origin Calculated duty Average applied duty rate
China $92.04B 36.05%
Burma (Myanmar) $210.16M 28.26%
Bangladesh $2.57B 27.03%
Azerbaijan $22.26M 25.08%
Bahrain $272.22M 24.81%
Sri Lanka $728.80M 23.32%
Cambodia $3.60B 21.73%
Pakistan $1.18B 21.63%
Moldova $17.61M 20.94%
Serbia $180.74M 20.11%


Prices and inflation


Exchange rates


Terms of trade (ToT) is the ratio of a country’s export prices to its import prices. Stronger ToT means a country can buy more imports for a given amount of exports. A stronger U.S. dollar can improve U.S. ToT with trading partners by lowering the dollar price of imports from the foreign country.


From March 2025 to March 2026:

The U.S. dollar:

  • Weakened against the Chinese yuan by 4.9 percent.

  • Weakened against the Euro by 6.3 percent.

  • Weakened against the British pound by 2.2 percent.

  • Strengthened against the Japanese yen by 6.1 percent.

  • Weakened against the Mexican peso by 11.9 percent.


Table 14. USD to foreign currency exchange rates

Currency Mar 31, 2026 Feb 27, 2026 M/M difference Mar 31, 2025 Y/Y difference
Chinese yuan ¥6.90 ¥6.86 0.58% ¥7.26 -4.94%
Euro €0.87 €0.85 2.64% €0.93 -6.27%
British pound £0.76 £0.74 2.06% £0.78 -2.18%
Japanese yen ¥159.08 ¥156.05 1.94% ¥149.90 6.12%
Mexican peso MX$18.03 MX$17.22 4.72% MX$20.46 -11.86%

Note: Currencies are sorted in alphabetical order by their ISO 4217 codes. The date shown in the third column is the date 22 business days before the date shown in the second column.



Exports





Table 15. Exported goods inflation

Mar 2026 Feb 2026 M/M difference Mar 2025 Y/Y difference
Month-over-month inflation
All exports 1.64% 1.93% -0.29pp -0.07% 1.71pp
Agricultural exports 0.94% 0.86% 0.08pp -0.17% 1.11pp
Nonagricultural exports 1.71% 2.08% -0.37pp 0.00% 1.71pp
Foods, feeds, and beverages 1.07% 1.17% -0.10pp -0.04% 1.11pp
Industrial supplies and materials 4.09% 4.76% -0.67pp -0.34% 4.43pp
Capital goods -0.16% -0.08% -0.08pp 0.24% -0.40pp
Automotive vehicles, parts, and engines 0.00% 0.07% -0.07pp 0.23% -0.23pp
Consumer goods -0.16% 0.57% -0.73pp 0.08% -0.24pp
Year-over-year inflation
All exports 5.57% 3.80% 1.77pp 2.49% 3.08pp
Agricultural exports 3.40% 2.26% 1.14pp 1.10% 2.30pp
Nonagricultural exports 5.81% 4.03% 1.78pp 2.59% 3.22pp
Foods, feeds, and beverages 4.09% 2.94% 1.15pp 3.07% 1.02pp
Industrial supplies and materials 10.24% 5.56% 4.68pp 3.64% 6.60pp
Capital goods 2.00% 2.41% -0.41pp 1.71% 0.29pp
Automotive vehicles, parts, and engines 2.36% 2.60% -0.24pp 2.66% -0.30pp
Consumer goods 3.45% 3.71% -0.26pp 0.76% 2.69pp


Imports


This inflation can reflect both changes in trade policy and the composition of goods imported in each category. See the Notes section for important information on interpreting this data.





Table 16. Imported goods inflation

Mar 2026 Feb 2026 M/M difference Mar 2025 Y/Y difference
Month-over-month inflation
All imports -0.75% -0.37% -0.38pp 1.11% -1.86pp
Fuels and lubricants 2.89% 2.43% 0.46pp -3.42% 6.31pp
All imports, excluding fuels -0.91% -0.52% -0.39pp 1.40% -2.31pp
Foods, feeds, and beverages 0.10% -0.92% 1.02pp 0.47% -0.37pp
Industrial supplies and materials 1.43% 1.35% 0.08pp 0.11% 1.32pp
Capital goods -1.16% 0.12% -1.28pp 2.24% -3.40pp
Automotive vehicles, parts, and engines -0.68% -1.73% 1.05pp 1.98% -2.66pp
Consumer goods -2.86% -1.61% -1.25pp 0.36% -3.22pp
Year-over-year inflation
All imports 5.10% 7.07% -1.97pp 2.37% 2.73pp
Fuels and lubricants -6.03% -11.79% 5.76pp -6.02% -0.01pp
All imports, excluding fuels 5.85% 8.32% -2.47pp 3.00% 2.85pp
Foods, feeds, and beverages -0.37% 0.00% -0.37pp 7.14% -7.51pp
Industrial supplies and materials 9.79% 8.37% 1.42pp 2.73% 7.06pp
Capital goods 4.57% 8.18% -3.61pp 2.51% 2.06pp
Automotive vehicles, parts, and engines 6.20% 9.04% -2.84pp 3.52% 2.68pp
Consumer goods 5.50% 8.99% -3.49pp 0.04% 5.46pp


Upcoming releases


Date Time Release Data source
May 06 10:00 AM State Employment and Unemployment, March 2026 Bureau of Labor Statistics
May 07 10:00 AM Monthly Debt Update, May 2026 U.S. Treasury
May 08 08:30 AM Monthly Employment Update, April 2026 Bureau of Labor Statistics
May 12 08:30 AM Monthly Inflation Update, April 2026 Bureau of Labor Statistics
May 12 10:00 AM Monthly Fiscal Update, February 2026 U.S. Treasury
May 13 10:00 AM Monthly Fiscal Update, April 2026 U.S. Treasury
May 22 10:00 AM State Employment and Unemployment, April 2026 Bureau of Labor Statistics
May 28 08:30 AM Monthly Expenditures Update, April 2026 Bureau of Economic Analysis
May 28 08:30 AM Monthly GDP Update, Q1 2026 Second Estimate Bureau of Economic Analysis
Jun 05 08:30 AM Monthly Employment Update, May 2026 Bureau of Labor Statistics
Jun 05 10:00 AM Monthly Debt Update, June 2026 U.S. Treasury


Notes


Sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis; U.S. Census Bureau; U.S. Department of the Treasury; Bureau of Labor Statistics; JEC Republicans calculations


Terminology


Duty: Customs duties are calculated by Customs and Border Protection and may overstate or understate the final total that is ultimately collected by the U.S. Treasury. These duties include tariffs.

Average applied duty rate: The sum of calculated duties as a share of total imports for consumption.

Imports for consumption: The total value of goods cleared through U.S. Customs either by entering consumption channels immediately or by entering via a bonded warehouse or Foreign Trade Zone under CBP custody.

Bonded warehouses: Private warehouses that hold goods after arrival to the U.S. under a bond that indemnifies the government until import duties are paid for those goods.

Foreign Trade Zones: Areas in or around ports where goods brought to the U.S. can be processed and modified before entering customs territory. If these goods leave the U.S. instead of entering U.S. customs territory, they are considered re-exports.

This type of imports include only those goods that enter U.S. customs territory, not all goods that physically arrive in U.S. ports. Duties are only paid on those goods that enter customs territory, so this type of imports is used in the “Import duties” section of this update.

Port district: Groups of air, land, and sea ports, typically in close geographical proximity to one another, categorized by CBP. The full list of districts and their ports are published in Schedule D, a statistical annex in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, and can be found here.

Low-value shipments: Shipments whose value is so low that trade is estimated instead of being based on trade filings. These are shipments with a value of less than $2,500 for exports.

N.E.C.: “Not elsewhere classified”

Y/Y difference: The change from the same month one year prior.


Adjustments


Census basis: All data on the international trade of goods comes from the U.S. Census Bureau, which gathers data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Canadian Customs, and Statistics Canada. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) makes some adjustments to this data to create the headline trade figures shown in the section above, such as including nonmonetary gold trade, goods procured in foreign ports by U.S. carriers, goods procured in U.S. ports by foreign carriers, imports by U.S. military agencies, and more. The full list of adjustments can be found here.


  • In March, adjustments to exports amounted to $957.00 million, or 0.00 percent.

  • In March, adjustments to imports amounted to $2.22 billion, or 0.01 percent.

  • Therefore, in total, the trade balance figure for March adjusted by BEA is $1.27 billion higher than the respective Census basis figure.


  • Over the 12 months through March 2026, adjustments to exports amounted to $9.14 billion, or 0.00 percent.

  • Over the 12 months through March 2026, adjustments to imports amounted to $22.28 billion, or 0.01 percent.

  • Therefore, in total, the trade balance figure for the past 12 months adjusted by BEA is $13.15 billion higher than the respective Census basis figure.


Balance of payments: The data adjusted by the BEA to align with its concepts and definitions used in the international and national economic accounts.

Corrections to exports to Canada: The data for exports to Canada in the current year are estimates of late arrivals and corrections. These values are adjusted to the actual value annually.

Duty effect: JEC Republicans adjust the price index for imported goods from BLS, which excludes import duties, with the average applied duty rates derived from Census data to estimate post-duty price indexes. These rates are affected by changes in policy that impact the proportion of each good’s value collected by the government as a duty. Additionally, because these rates are averaged across broad categories of goods, changes can reflect the composition of goods imported within the category, for example a relative shift from goods with high duty rates toward those with lower duty rates. Therefore, the post-duty price index inflation reported may reflect not only policy changes but also shifts in the composition of imports.

Totals: Totals of values “from March 2025 to March 2026” are the sum over 12 months, inclusive of the latter month but not the former. Year-over-year values represent the change from March 2025 to March 2026.