Trade Balance under every president, month by month
At month 21 in office, Trump II is at +15.8% since taking office: #1 of 6 administrations (average −23.4%). Official Census Bureau and BEA data.
Every administration at month 21
| Rank | Administration | Value at month 21 | Change since month 1 | Latest / end of month 48 | Primary federal source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Donald Trump (second term) · in office | −$105B | +15.8% | −$105B (month 21) | Census Bureau and BEA · BOPGSTB |
| #2 | George W. Bush | −$35B | −3.8% | −$54B (month 48) | Census Bureau and BEA · BOPGSTB |
| #3 | Joe Biden | −$67B | −8.9% | −$97B (month 48) | Census Bureau and BEA · BOPGSTB |
| #4 | Barack Obama | −$43B | −13.2% | −$35B (month 48) | Census Bureau and BEA · BOPGSTB |
| #5 | Donald Trump (first term) | −$49B | −15.7% | −$61B (month 48) | Census Bureau and BEA · BOPGSTB |
| #6 | Bill Clinton | −$8B | −114.7% | −$10B (month 48) | Census Bureau and BEA · BOPGSTB |
Methodology and source verification
Monthly U.S. balance of trade in goods and services, in billions of dollars (Census Bureau and BEA). Negative = deficit.
Every administration is aligned to its own inauguration: month 1 is the month it took office, and the comparison runs to month 48 (the first term). Each administration is compared at the same month in office, so a president halfway through a term is never measured against another's full four years.
Primary source: Census Bureau and BEA. Retrieved from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED), series BOPGSTB, refreshed hourly. Latest observation 2026-09-01, first published 2026-11-04. Full methods: methodology.