# US trade deficit narrows to $105.0 billion as computer imports surge Exports rose $5.8 billion in September, but computer imports jumped $7.6 billion and the three-month average deficit rose to $101.2 billion. By The Signal Edition Newsroom | Markets and economy / Trade and tariffs Published: 2026-11-04T13:48:21Z Updated: 2026-11-04T13:48:21Z Canonical: https://thesignaledition.com/article/us-trade-deficit-september-2026-105-billion-computer-imports-trd6k3 ## Key points - The U.S. goods and services trade deficit was $105.0 billion in September 2026, down $0.7 billion from a revised $105.7 billion in August, the Bureau of Economic Analysis and Census Bureau reported on Nov. 4. - Exports rose $5.8 billion to $321.5 billion and imports rose $5.2 billion to $426.6 billion; imports of computers rose $7.6 billion. - The three-month average deficit rose $11.3 billion to $101.2 billion, and was $36.5 billion higher than a year earlier. - The year-to-date deficit is $92.4 billion, or 12.2 percent, below the same period of 2025. ## What the September trade data showed The U.S. goods and services trade deficit was $105.0 billion in September 2026, down $0.7 billion from a revised $105.7 billion in August, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) and the Census Bureau said on Nov. 4. Exports rose $5.8 billion to $321.5 billion, and imports rose $5.2 billion to $426.6 billion. [1](https://www.bea.gov/news/2026/us-international-trade-goods-and-services-september-2026) The goods deficit fell $0.7 billion to $135.9 billion. The services surplus was little changed at $30.9 billion. The figures are seasonally adjusted and not adjusted for price changes, the agencies said. [1](https://www.bea.gov/news/2026/us-international-trade-goods-and-services-september-2026) On a longer view the deficit is still running higher than a year ago. The average deficit for the three months ending in September was $101.2 billion, up $11.3 billion from the prior three-month period and $36.5 billion above the three months ending in September 2025. Year to date, the deficit is $92.4 billion, or 12.2 percent, lower than in the same period of 2025, with exports up 11.6 percent and imports up 6.2 percent. [1](https://www.bea.gov/news/2026/us-international-trade-goods-and-services-september-2026) ## What drove imports and exports Capital goods imports rose $11.6 billion in September, more than twice the $5.2 billion rise in total imports. Computers accounted for $7.6 billion of that and computer accessories for $5.7 billion, while semiconductor imports fell $1.2 billion. Pharmaceutical preparations rose $2.9 billion, and nonmonetary gold fell $2.7 billion. The agencies' import categories overlap, so the line items do not sum to the total. [1](https://www.bea.gov/news/2026/us-international-trade-goods-and-services-september-2026) On the export side, goods exports rose $5.1 billion to $211.0 billion. Capital goods rose $3.8 billion, including computers (up $1.3 billion) and civilian aircraft (up $0.7 billion). Foods, feeds and beverages rose $1.9 billion, with soybeans up $1.3 billion. Nonmonetary gold exports fell $3.4 billion. [1](https://www.bea.gov/news/2026/us-international-trade-goods-and-services-september-2026) Bloomberg reported on Oct. 28, on the Census Bureau's advance goods-only release, that September capital goods imports hit a record and attributed the rise to AI data-center equipment. The advance goods deficit was $134.9 billion on a different accounting basis from the $135.9 billion in the full release. Bloomberg said the capital goods deficit was $54.3 billion larger than a year earlier, more than the entire widening of the total goods deficit over that period. [2](https://www.ttnews.com/articles/trade-gap-september-2026) The Coalition for a Prosperous America, a trade advocacy group, made a similar point about the August data. Its senior economist Andrew Rechenberg said: "The data center build-out is moving the trade deficit." The group's analysis is advocacy, and its figures for August were on a goods-only basis. [3](https://prosperousamerica.org/data-center-imports-push-monthly-trade-deficit-to-another-2026-record/) ## Where the largest trade deficits are In September the largest goods deficits were with Mexico ($28.7 billion), Vietnam ($25.3 billion), Taiwan ($21.9 billion), China ($17.9 billion) and the European Union ($14.2 billion), on a Census basis. The deficit with Taiwan rose $3.6 billion to $21.9 billion, with imports up $4.2 billion to $27.3 billion. The deficit with the European Union rose $3.2 billion to $14.2 billion. The deficit with Canada fell $2.7 billion to $4.4 billion. [1](https://www.bea.gov/news/2026/us-international-trade-goods-and-services-september-2026) ## What happens next Before the Nov. 4 release, Bloomberg said the Atlanta Fed's GDPNow model had net exports subtracting 2.86 percentage points from third-quarter GDP growth, compared with 1.10 points in the second quarter. The agencies will publish October trade data on Dec. 8, 2026. [2](https://www.ttnews.com/articles/trade-gap-september-2026) [1](https://www.bea.gov/news/2026/us-international-trade-goods-and-services-september-2026) ## Sources 1. [Bureau of Economic Analysis: U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services, September 2026](https://www.bea.gov/news/2026/us-international-trade-goods-and-services-september-2026) (2026-11-04) 2. [Bloomberg News via TT News: Trade gap jumps to most since March 2025 on capital goods](https://www.ttnews.com/articles/trade-gap-september-2026) (2026-10-28) 3. [Coalition for a Prosperous America: Data center imports push monthly trade deficit to another 2026 record](https://prosperousamerica.org/data-center-imports-push-monthly-trade-deficit-to-another-2026-record/) (2026-10-07)