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Trade Balance

Exports minus imports. Below zero is a trade deficit.

Trade Balance
-$0.87T
Billions of dollars · latest, Apr 2026
vs prior quarter▼ 6.0%
vs year ago▲ 3.4%
1948-49 Recession · Nov 1948 – Oct 19491953-54 Recession · Jul 1953 – May 19541957-58 Recession · Aug 1957 – Apr 19581960-61 Recession · Apr 1960 – Feb 19611969-70 Recession · Dec 1969 – Nov 19701973-75 Recession · Nov 1973 – Mar 19751980 Recession · Jan 1980 – Jul 19801981-82 Recession · Jul 1981 – Nov 19821990-91 Recession · Jul 1990 – Mar 19912001 Recession · Mar 2001 – Nov 2001Global Financial Crisis · Dec 2007 – Jun 2009COVID-19 Recession · Feb 2020 – Apr 2020-$1.2T-$1.0T-$0.8T-$0.6T-$0.4T-$0.2T$0.0T19501960197019801990200020102020-$0.87T
Trade Balance — one value per year; US recessions are shaded on the chart.
YearTrade Balance
1947+$0.01T
1948+$0.00T
1949+$0.00T
1950-$0.00T
1951+$0.00T
1952-$0.00T
1953-$0.00T
1954+$0.00T
1955+$0.00T
1956+$0.00T
1957+$0.00T
1958-$0.00T
1959+$0.00T
1960+$0.01T
1961+$0.00T
1962+$0.00T
1963+$0.01T
1964+$0.01T
1965+$0.01T
1966+$0.00T
1967+$0.00T
1968+$0.00T
1969+$0.00T
1970+$0.00T
1971-$0.00T
1972-$0.00T
1973+$0.01T
1974+$0.00T
1975+$0.01T
1976-$0.01T
1977-$0.03T
1978-$0.02T
1979-$0.03T
1980-$0.01T
1981-$0.01T
1982-$0.03T
1983-$0.07T
1984-$0.11T
1985-$0.13T
1986-$0.13T
1987-$0.15T
1988-$0.11T
1989-$0.08T
1990-$0.08T
1991-$0.02T
1992-$0.05T
1993-$0.07T
1994-$0.10T
1995-$0.07T
1996-$0.09T
1997-$0.12T
1998-$0.18T
1999-$0.30T
2000-$0.41T
2001-$0.37T
2002-$0.50T
2003-$0.52T
2004-$0.70T
2005-$0.80T
2006-$0.74T
2007-$0.73T
2008-$0.63T
2009-$0.47T
2010-$0.52T
2011-$0.60T
2012-$0.52T
2013-$0.43T
2014-$0.53T
2015-$0.52T
2016-$0.53T
2017-$0.55T
2018-$0.63T
2019-$0.51T
2020-$0.76T
2021-$0.91T
2022-$0.85T
2023-$0.79T
2024-$0.94T
2025-$0.78T
2026-$0.87T

Hover the line to read any month. Drag across the chart to zoom; double-click to reset.

Source: FRED · NETEXP · series · Jan 1947 to Apr 2026 · latest-revised

Refreshed Jul 31, 2026 from FRED.

Exports minus imports. Below zero is a trade deficit.

Net exports of goods and services: exports minus imports, in current dollars.

Source: FRED · Apr 2026 · Full lesson → Learn

About the bands. Shaded spans are NBER-dated US recessions, drawn as factual overlays. They mark when the economy contracted, not why. Lining an event up with a move is not evidence it caused the move.

Read across

No single number is the economy. These measure nearby parts of it — add one to compare, or open it on its own.

  • Exports Goods and services sold abroad, one side of the balance.
  • Imports Goods and services bought from abroad, the other side.
  • US Dollar Index (Broad) The dollar's value against trading-partner currencies.