China and Mexico profited most from exporting commodities to the United States, which concluded 2024 with the second-largest trade imbalance on record.
Canada? Not at all.
Just like in his first term, President Donald Trump is attempting to close the long-standing trade imbalances in the United States, but he was unsuccessful, and the process hasn’t become any simpler. In 2024, the trade imbalance increased by 17% to a staggering $918 billion.
With a $295 billion goods gap in 2024, the United States once again had the biggest deficit with China. (Services’ full-year data are not yet available.)
Since Trump initially hit China with significant tariffs in 2018, the deficit has significantly decreased. President Joe Biden maintained and increased the tariffs.
The trade deficit with China has consequently decreased from a record $418 billion in 2018.
However, because businesses just moved their production to other low-cost countries like Mexico and Vietnam, the overall U.S. trade deficit has continued to grow since then.
For example, according to government data, the imbalance with Mexico has more than doubled during 2018, rising from $78 billion to a record $172 billion in 2024.
In contrast, the gap with Vietnam has increased from less than $40 billion in 2018 to $123 billion.
How about Canada?
Trump agreed to a 30-day discussion truce this week after threatening to impose 25% tariffs on both Canada and Mexico.
In 2024, the U.S. and Canada had a $63.3 billion goods imbalance, placing Canada in tenth place (see chart).
However, there is a significant catch: if oil and gas are taken out of the equation, the United States really had a substantial surplus with Canada.
Last year, the U.S. reported a $94 billion oil and gas imbalance with Canada. However, the majority of that fuel is sent to the United States for refinement, which boosts earnings for American Gulf Coast businesses and keeps gas prices low.
In 2024, the U.S. ran a $30 billion surplus with Canada, excluding oil and gas. Computers, electronics, farm crops, machinery, and chemicals were among the top exports from the United States.
There aren’t many surpluses between the US and other nations. With $55.5 billion in 2024, the Netherlands is at the top of the list; more than half of that amount is made up of fuels like gas and oil that are sent around Europe.
