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US goods imports plunged by nearly a fifth in April in the biggest fall on record as President Donald Trump’s tariffs prompted companies to slam the brakes on shipments to the world’s biggest economy.
Imports of goods for April totalled $276.1bn, down 19.8 per cent from March, according to the Census Bureau’s advance economic indicators report, released on Friday.
The drop is the largest in Census Bureau data dating back to 1992 and marks a stark turnaround from March, when companies rushed to buy foreign goods before Trump’s April 2 “liberation day” tariffs announcement.
The dive in imports comes as Americans grow increasingly cautious in their spending habits amid the turmoil. Separate data released on Friday by the Bureau of Economic Analysis showed consumer spending growth slowing from 0.7 per cent in March to 0.2 per cent in April.
The data provides the clearest picture yet of the ruptures to international trade caused by the president’s levies, which have roiled markets and upended US commercial relations with the world.
Companies’ rush to purchase foreign made goods ahead of Trump’s April tariff deadline caused US GDP to shrink by an annualised 0.2 per cent in the first quarter of the year, the first contraction since 2022.
But the plunge in April import levels suggests economic data will receive a boost in the second quarter as companies are forced to turn to domestically made goods.
Imports of consumer goods were hit particularly hard, according to the Census Bureau data, sliding 32 per cent to $69.6bn in April on a seasonally adjusted basis. Industrial supply shipments fell 31 per cent to $51.8bn, while automotive imports were down 19 per cent at $33.6bn.
US importers must now contend with a broad series of levies on foreign goods, including steep tariffs on Chinese products and a universal 10 per cent levy.
The status of the tariffs has fluctuated wildly in recent months, triggering widespread confusion among companies and volatility in markets.
The US struck a deal with China two weeks ago to reduce tariffs temporarily between the two countries, but tensions between them appeared to be rising again on Friday as Trump said in a Truth Social post that Beijing had “TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US”. And while the US president paused the steeper so-called reciprocal tariffs on most countries on April 9, the current set of levies still brings the overall tariff level to multi-decade highs.
Meanwhile a US trade court ruled on Wednesday that Trump’s “liberation day” tariff scheme was illegal, but an appeals court the following day allowed them to remain in effect until an objection from the government is reviewed.