Trump has continued to promote tariffs as a path to reducing the trade deficit. However, many importers sought to avoid the taxes by importing more goods before the taxes went into effect. As a result, the $582.7 billion trade imbalance for the first half of the year was 38% higher than in 2024.

President Donald Trump has started imposing higher import taxes on goods from over 60 countries, including the European Union, Japan and South Korea