The July U.S. trade deficit widened to $88.6 billion.

The U.S. goods-and-services deficit was $88.6 billion in July, $17.4 billion wider than June's revised $71.2 billion. Goods — especially capital-goods imports — did the widening.

The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis published that print at 8:30 a.m. EDT on Thursday, September 3, 2026, as U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services, July 2026 (BEA 26-40 / CB 26-142). The figures are seasonally adjusted and not adjusted for price changes. Statistical significance, the agencies note, is not applicable or not measurable for the headline percent changes.

July exports were $310.7 billion, $6.6 billion less than June, or -2.1 percent. July imports were $399.3 billion, $10.8 billion more than June, or +2.8 percent. The agencies also printed a +24.4 percent change in the deficit itself.

Goods did the widening

The July increase in the goods-and-services deficit reflected an increase in the goods deficit of $17.6 billion, to $119.6 billion, and an increase in the services surplus of $200 million, to $31.0 billion. Services moved the other way by two-tenths of a billion. Goods carried the month.

Exports of goods decreased $6.2 billion to $201.0 billion. On a Census basis, industrial supplies and materials decreased $8.7 billion, with crude oil down $4.5 billion and nonmonetary gold down $3.9 billion. Capital goods increased $1.9 billion. Consumer goods increased $1.7 billion, including a $1.0 billion rise in pharmaceutical preparations. Exports of services decreased $400 million to $109.7 billion, with travel down $600 million.

Imports of goods increased $11.4 billion to $320.6 billion. Capital goods increased $14.4 billion, including computers up $6.9 billion, computer accessories up $6.6 billion, and semiconductors up $1.2 billion. Industrial supplies and materials decreased $1.8 billion, matching a $1.8 billion decline in crude oil. Imports of services decreased $600 million to $78.7 billion.

In 2017 dollars on a Census basis, the real goods deficit increased $12.0 billion, or 12.7 percent, to $106.4 billion, compared with a 17.7 percent increase in the nominal goods deficit. Prices did not account for the whole move.

The year-to-date gap is still smaller

Year-to-date, the goods and services deficit decreased $188.4 billion, or 29.6 percent, from the same period in 2025. Exports increased $237.2 billion, or 12.0 percent. Imports increased $48.8 billion, or 1.9 percent. July's widening sits inside a narrower year-to-date gap, not instead of it.

On a Census goods basis, the July figures show a $27.5 billion deficit with Mexico, up $7.2 billion, as imports rose $7.0 billion to $60.1 billion and exports fell $200 million to $32.6 billion. Other printed goods deficits include Vietnam $23.3 billion, Taiwan $18.1 billion, and China $15.2 billion. The goods deficit with Canada decreased $3.7 billion to $3.2 billion.

The average goods-and-services deficit for the three months ending in July increased $11.9 billion to $78.5 billion. Average exports decreased $6.4 billion to $316.0 billion. Average imports increased $5.5 billion to $394.5 billion.

June exports of goods were revised up $300 million and exports of services up $2.3 billion. June imports of goods were revised up $200 million and imports of services up $300 million. January through June 2026 were revised to incorporate more comprehensive quarterly and monthly data. This page uses the revised June $71.2 billion comparison printed today.

August is the next print

The next release is Tuesday, October 6, 2026, covering August. This release does not include a market-reaction print, a Federal Reserve implication, or a tariff attribution. It is not the BLS productivity release that also published this morning.