Trade deficit plunges to under $30 billion in report delayed by Schumer shutdown
A federal report on the nation’s trade deficit reveals a stunner: That the deficit for October plunged to under $30 billion, the first time the figure has been that low in nearly two decades.
The report, delayed by the Schumer shutdown of the federal government, in which Democrats unsuccessfully demanded Republicans in Congress raid taxpayers’ pockets for more than a trillion dollars for their spending plans, confirms that President Donald Trump’s economic policies are affecting the nation.
US Trade Deficit for Oct. 2025 was only -$29.4B.
Thats the smallest trade Deficit since June 2009. pic.twitter.com/kemTFRrXOe
— America First Insight (@AF_Insight) January 8, 2026
According to a report at MarketWatch, the number was the lowest it’s been in 16 years.
The previous month the figure was $48.1 billion.
The plunge was attributed to surging U.S. exports and dwindling imports.
Explained the report, “Exports rose 2.6% in October. While the U.S. shipped more industrial supplies overseas, a big increase in gold exports also played a large role. Investors brought lots of gold in from outside the U.S. earlier in the year on worries the precious metal might get slapped with tariffs. But when Trump administration backed off, those worries evaporated, prompting dealers to send the gold back to their prior storage sites in other countries such as Switzerland.”
At the same time, imports fell by 3.2%.
Still the war rages on, the report said, with the deficit $782.8 billion for the first 10 months of 2025, up from $726.8 billion during the same time in 2024.
The numbers showed the biggest impact on the tariffs imposed by Trump is trading with China, where imports fell from $363 billion in the first part of 2024 to $266 billion during that time this year.
A commentary at the Gateway Pundit said, “The far left reporters and Democrats owe President Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent an apology.”