US goods trade deficit narrows sharply in April as imports plunge

The U.S. trade deficit in goods narrowed sharply in April as the boost from the front-running of imports ahead of tariffs faded.

The goods trade gap contracted 46.0% to $87.6 billion last month, the Commerce Department's Census Bureau said on Friday. Goods imports decreased $68.4 billion to $276.1 billion. Exports of goods increased $6.3 billion to $188.5 billion.

A rush to beat import duties pushed the goods trade deficit to a record high in March. The front-running of imports is probably not over. Higher duties for most countries have been postponed until July, while those for Chinese goods have been delayed until mid-August amid negotiations between President Donald Trump's administration and trade partners.

Economists said that could see some businesses trying to bring in more imports given the lack of clarity about what happens after the 90-day pauses. Adding to the uncertainty, a U.S. trade court on Wednesday blocked most of Trump's tariffs from going into effect in a sweeping ruling that the president overstepped his authority. They were temporarily reinstated by a federal appeals court on Thursday.

A record trade gap accounted for a large part of the 0.2% annualized rate of decline in gross domestic product in the first quarter.