Latest data released by the U.S. government on the 6th shows that before President Trump announced tariff measures on 'Liberation Day', U.S. imports surged, resulting in a trade deficit of $140.5 billion (approximately 595.2 billion MYR) in March, setting a record high.
The U.S. Department of Commerce stated in a statement that the U.S. trade deficit in March jumped 14% to $140.5 billion. This is the largest single-month trade deficit on record since 1992, an increase of $17.3 billion from the revised deficit of $123.2 billion in February.
The U.S. March trade deficit exceeded the median forecast of $137.6 billion by economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
Before the tariffs were implemented, Americans rushed to buy imported goods, pushing the import amount to increase by 4.4% to $419 billion in March, further widening the trade deficit for that month.
The scope of the data statistics is the month before Trump announced high tariffs on China and a lower 'benchmark tariff' of 10% on imports from many other countries.