U.S. trade deficit widened in December, recording one of the largest annual deficits since 1960.

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Despite the Trump administration's efforts to reduce the United States' huge trade deficit, the overall annual trade imbalance showed little change, with the U.S. trade deficit widening in December, marking the end of the year.

The U.S. Department of Commerce reported on Thursday that, after a turbulent year in global markets, the total U.S. goods and services trade deficit for December was $70.3 billion, an increase of $17.3 billion from November, and significantly higher than the $55.5 billion expected by the media.

For the entire year, the U.S. trade deficit was $901.5 billion, down only 0.2% or $2.1 billion from 2024. This total is also slightly lower than the record $923.7 billion deficit in 2022.

This report was released at a time when U.S. President Trump had implemented a series of aggressive tariff policies over the past year aimed at "balancing" the global trade environment. In April last year, Trump announced a uniform 10% tariff on all imported goods, as well as so-called "reciprocal tariffs" on specific countries running a trade surplus with the U.S. However, during the year, Trump softened his position on many issues and is still negotiating with major trade partners.

To get ahead of the tariffs, companies concentrated their imports in the first three months of the year. This trend later eased, and in October the trade deficit fell to the lowest monthly level since 2009.

The U.S. had the largest goods trade deficit with the European Union, totaling $218.8 billion.

For the entire year 2025, U.S. exports totaled $3.43 trillion, an increase of $199.8 billion from 2024; total imports reached $4.33 trillion, up $197.8 billion year-on-year.

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