US Trade Gap Jumps to $105.6 Billion, Highest Since March

America imported far more than it exported in August, driven by an AI tech buying spree and tariff effects.

The United States bought a lot more from other countries than it sold in August — and the gap grew sharply.

The U.S. trade deficit (the difference between what a country imports from abroad and what it exports to other countries) widened to a huge $105.6 billion in August, according to the Commerce Department.

Here are the key numbers:

Imports (goods and services bought from other countries) rose 4.3% in a single month.
The total deficit of $105.6 billion was 13.7% higher than July.
This beat the Dow Jones consensus estimate (what economists on average had predicted) of $102 billion.
It was the widest gap since March 2025 — just before President Trump's "liberation day" tariff announcement.

Why did imports jump so much? A big reason is the artificial intelligence (AI) build-out — companies are importing lots of equipment and components to build AI systems. Shifting tariffs (taxes on imported goods) also caused companies to adjust their buying.

Is this bad news? Not necessarily. There's some good news hidden in the data:

The year-to-date deficit (the total for the whole year so far) of $138.2 billion is actually nearly 20% lower than the same period last year.
Economists say the strong imports reflect strong domestic demand — meaning Americans and businesses are buying a lot, a sign of a healthy economy, not weakness.

Still, there's a catch. Imports usually subtract from GDP (Gross Domestic Product — the total value of everything a country produces). Because of this:

Goldman Sachs cut its growth forecast for the third quarter to 3.1% (down 0.3 points).
The Atlanta Federal Reserve's GDPNow tracker lowered its estimate to 3.7% (down 0.1 points).

Bottom line: A bigger trade deficit sounds alarming, but experts see it as a sign that Americans are spending confidently, especially on AI technology. The downside is it may slightly slow down measured economic growth for the quarter.

This is an AI-generated summary. Read the original article at: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/06/trade-deficit-hits-105point6-billion-widest-since-just-before-trump-tariffs-enacted-last-year.html