United States’ trade gap widens with Asia

Although the US trade deficit with the EU shrank slightly, deficits with major Asian partners like Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan, India, Thailand and Vietnam expanded, writes KPMG US Senior Economist Meagan Martin-Schoenberger.

The United States' (US) trade deficit expanded 32.6 percent in December to $70.3 billion, much more than market expectations for a lateral move. High-frequency trade data had shown more import activity at the tail end of the year. The deficit in dollar terms increased US$17.3 billion after a US$24.3 billion expansion in November. That is the second largest two-month change in the trade deficit on record going back to 1992, behind only the two months ending in January 2025 when importers st...

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Authors: Meagan Schoenberger

Published Date: 20 February 2026