← 2026-11-04 edition · Sourced reporting
The trade gap narrowed by $0.7 billion. That does not mean imports fell.
As of 2026-11-04 · Publication details
September 2026 · seasonally adjusted · nominal, balance-of-payments basis · billion U.S. dollars
U.S. goods and services trade in September 2026, seasonally adjusted nominal dollars on a balance-of-payments basis. Common zero scale. Not household prices, tariff payments or inflation-adjusted volumes. Values are rounded.
United States international trade in goods and services, September 2026; November 4 joint BEA/Census release. Main comparison is seasonally adjusted, nominal dollars on a balance-of-payments basis. Real goods figures use a different, Census basis.
September exports reached $321.5 billion and imports $426.6 billion, according to BEA and Census. Both rose. The agencies report a $105.0 billion deficit, $0.7 billion smaller than revised August. These national dollar totals do not measure a household’s prices or a particular importer’s tariff bill. [1] [2] [5]
Still open: No business-specific invoices, customs entries or household price observations were collected. All open questions ↓
Inspect the release’s product/country exhibits and explanatory notes before applying the national total to a business question. It is not a tariff or personal-cost calculator. →Archive photograph · 2021-09-18 · Port of Los Angeles, California, United States
Read the full story
The reporting question: What changed in the new U.S. trade figures, and what can a household or business infer?
Exports rose more than imports
The smaller deficit accompanied increases on both sides of trade. Exports rose $5.8 billion and imports $5.2 billion. The chart shows the September levels on the same basis; use the agencies’ reported $105.0 billion balance rather than subtracting the rounded bars. [1] [2]
A different measure points the other way
The real goods deficit rose 3.0 percent on a Census basis. That is not the same measure as the nominal balance covering goods and services. The release explains that a nonmonetary-gold adjustment helps account for the difference in direction between the nominal goods measures. [3] [5]
One month does not settle the trend
The three-month average deficit increased even as September’s monthly deficit narrowed. For a business checking its market, the release’s exhibits and explanatory notes offer country and product detail. The aggregate balance cannot establish a particular product’s duties or what a family paid. [4] [5]
- 1 source record
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and U.S. Census Bureau
How we know5 scoped claims · 1 source recordView evidence
Each claim keeps its full assertion, date, source passage and limits. Source counts describe records, not independent corroboration.
1.Claim 1Supported
The joint release reports September exports of $321.5 billion, imports of $426.6 billion and a deficit of $105.0 billion, down $0.7 billion from revised August’s $105.7 billion.
- Scope
- United States international trade in goods and services, September 2026; November 4 joint BEA/Census release. Main comparison is seasonally adjusted, nominal dollars on a balance-of-payments basis. Real goods figures use a different, Census basis.
- Evidence passage
- Opening summary and Exports, Imports, and Balance (exhibit 1).
- As of
- 2026-11-04
- Limit
- The displayed rounded levels do not subtract to the separately reported balance: $426.6 minus $321.5 is $105.1 billion. Preserve the agencies’ reported $105.0 billion balance rather than silently recalculating it from these rounded labels; underlying detailed files were not captured.
Retrieved 2026-11-04T16:14:13.145Z · U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and U.S. Census Bureau
Captured visible original record at the stated scope. No business-specific invoices, customs entries or household price observations were collected. The underlying detailed data files were not captured; this bounded account uses the visible release and its explanatory notes.
2.The release says exports rose $5.8 billion from August and imports rose $5.2 billion.Supported
The release says exports rose $5.8 billion from August and imports rose $5.2 billion.
- Scope
- United States international trade in goods and services, September 2026; November 4 joint BEA/Census release. Main comparison is seasonally adjusted, nominal dollars on a balance-of-payments basis. Real goods figures use a different, Census basis.
- Evidence passage
- Exports, Imports, and Balance (exhibit 1), first paragraph.
- As of
- 2026-11-04
- Limit
- Rounded monthly changes and rounded levels; not an estimate of volume or household affordability.
Retrieved 2026-11-04T16:14:13.145Z · U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and U.S. Census Bureau
Captured visible original record at the stated scope. No business-specific invoices, customs entries or household price observations were collected. The underlying detailed data files were not captured; this bounded account uses the visible release and its explanatory notes.
3.Claim 3Supported
On a Census basis in 2017 dollars, the September real goods deficit increased 3.0 percent to $119.5 billion. The release attributes the opposite direction of the balance-of-payments nominal goods deficit to a nonmonetary-gold adjustment.
- Scope
- United States international trade in goods and services, September 2026; November 4 joint BEA/Census release. Main comparison is seasonally adjusted, nominal dollars on a balance-of-payments basis. Real goods figures use a different, Census basis.
- Evidence passage
- Real Goods in 2017 Dollars – Census Basis (exhibit 11), including its parenthetical explanation.
- As of
- 2026-11-04
- Limit
- Different coverage, valuation and price treatment from the all-goods-and-services headline; do not compare these levels as one series.
Retrieved 2026-11-04T16:14:13.145Z · U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and U.S. Census Bureau
Captured visible original record at the stated scope. No business-specific invoices, customs entries or household price observations were collected. The underlying detailed data files were not captured; this bounded account uses the visible release and its explanatory notes.
4.Claim 4Supported
The three-month average goods-and-services deficit increased $11.3 billion to $101.2 billion for the three months ending September.
- Scope
- United States international trade in goods and services, September 2026; November 4 joint BEA/Census release. Main comparison is seasonally adjusted, nominal dollars on a balance-of-payments basis. Real goods figures use a different, Census basis.
- Evidence passage
- Three-Month Moving Averages (exhibit 2).
- As of
- 2026-11-04
- Limit
- An overlapping three-month average, not the September-only balance.
Retrieved 2026-11-04T16:14:13.145Z · U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and U.S. Census Bureau
Captured visible original record at the stated scope. No business-specific invoices, customs entries or household price observations were collected. The underlying detailed data files were not captured; this bounded account uses the visible release and its explanatory notes.
5.Claim 5Supported
The release’s headline figures are seasonally adjusted but not adjusted for price changes; its explanatory notes describe sources, definitions and revisions.
- Scope
- United States international trade in goods and services, September 2026; November 4 joint BEA/Census release. Main comparison is seasonally adjusted, nominal dollars on a balance-of-payments basis. Real goods figures use a different, Census basis.
- Evidence passage
- Statistical-significance note beneath the summary; Explanatory Notes.
- As of
- 2026-11-04
- Limit
- Changes in nominal totals cannot isolate changes in quantities, tariffs, demand or individual prices.
Retrieved 2026-11-04T16:14:13.145Z · U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and U.S. Census Bureau
Captured visible original record at the stated scope. No business-specific invoices, customs entries or household price observations were collected. The underlying detailed data files were not captured; this bounded account uses the visible release and its explanatory notes.
What remains open.
- No business-specific invoices, customs entries or household price observations were collected.
- The underlying detailed data files were not captured; this bounded account uses the visible release and its explanatory notes.
- Audience engagement and comprehension are unmeasured. Separate exact-source review and publisher-owned rendered checks remain pending.
A corrected BEA/Census release, revised September balance or evidence changing the price/basis distinction would require a new version.
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