US President Donald Trump on Friday hailed newly released economic data showing a sharp drop in the country’s trade deficit, describing it as the lowest level since 2009 and saying it continues to decline.
Sharing a post on the development, Trump called the figures an “unprecedented success” for the United States.
“BREAKING NEWS: Numbers released today show that the United States of America has the lowest Trade Deficit since 2009, and is going even lower. In addition, our Nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is predicted to come in at over 5%, and that is after losing at least 1.5 per cent to the Democrat ‘Shutdown.’ These incredible numbers, and the unprecedented SUCCESS of our Country, are a direct result of TARIFFS, which have rescued our Economy and National Security. I hope the Supreme Court is aware of these Historic, country-saving achievements prior to the issuance of their most important (ever!) Decision. Thank you for your attention to this matter! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP,” the post read.
“BREAKING NEWS: Numbers released today show that the United States of America has the lowest Trade Deficit since 2009, and going even lower… These incredible numbers, and the unprecedented SUCCESS of our Country, are a direct result of TARIFFS” – President Donald J. Trump 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/k3e0FbKfLC
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 9, 2026
The US trade deficit has fallen sharply six months after President Donald Trump rolled out his tariff policy, dropping to its lowest level since mid-2009, according to data released by the Commerce Department on Thursday.
The trade gap narrowed to $29.4 billion in October, a steep 39 per cent decline from the previous month. The improvement was driven by a rise in exports and a fall in imports, with exports climbing 2.6 per cent while imports dropped 3.2 per cent.
The latest figure marks the smallest trade shortfall since the second quarter of 2009, when the US economy was emerging from the global financial crisis and the Great Recession.
The data captures trade trends following Trump’s introduction of so-called “liberation day” tariffs in April 2025. At the time, many economists and policymakers warned the measures could backfire by triggering retaliation and slowing global trade flows. However, Trump later eased some of his harshest tariff threats, and the figures now point to sustained demand for American goods.
Despite the recent improvement, the cumulative trade deficit for the year so far remains 7.7% higher than during the same period in 2024.
Supporting that view, separate data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that productivity surged at an annual rate of 4.9 per cent in the third quarter. Higher productivity helped push unit labour costs down by 1.9 per cent, far more than expected, suggesting that wage pressures are not fuelling inflation.
