The top 10 countries with the largest trade deficits with the United States include China, Mexico, Vietnam, Ireland, Germany, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and India, some of which have been hit by Trump’s tariffs as a result.
President Donald Trump imposed additional tariffs of 25% on neighboring Canadian and Mexican imports on March 4, with some temporary exemptions announced on March 6. The president also announced a 10% additional tariff on Chinese imports.
Along with undocumented immigration and drug trafficking, Trump cites the trade deficit as a reason for the tariffs.
The 10 countries with the largest trade deficits in the US have been identified, using data from the US Census Bureau 2025, published by Visual Capitalist. Notably, the data only covers products for 2024.
According to the White House, the trade deficit threatens US economic and national security, hollows out the country’s industrial base and reduces overall national competitiveness, and makes the nation dependent on other countries to meet key US security needs.
As a result, in an effort to address the deficit, the Trump administration has implemented plans to impose tariffs on many of America’s trading partners.
Importantly, the main cause of a trade deficit is when the United States imports more from a country than it exports.
In 2024, the US has the largest deficit in goods trade with China, followed by a $172 billion trade deficit with Mexico and a $63 billion trade deficit with Canada. According to Visual Capitalist, together these three countries make up 41% of total US imports.
| Rank | Country | Deficit |
| 1 | China | -$295 billion |
| 2 | Mexico | -$172 billion |
| 3 | Vietnam | -$124 billion |
| 4 | Ireland | -$87 billion |
| 5 | Germany | -$85 billion |
| 6 | Taiwan | -$74 billion |
| 7 | Japan | -$69 billion |
| 8 | South Korea | -$66 billion |
| 9 | Canada | -$63 billion |
| 10 | India | -$46 billion |
The US has a $124 billion trade deficit with Vietnam. Also, EU members Ireland and Germany represent the highest trade deficits. A few days ago, President Trump said that a 25% tariff on EU goods was coming soon.
What impact can tariffs have on business?
Many experts believe that tariffs are not effective in reducing the country’s trade deficit. However, tariffs will affect supply chains and corporate finances.
Legally, companies pay a trade fee when a country imports goods. The company is then left with two options, one of which is to recover the additional cost from customers and the other is to bear the cost themselves. In this case, cost bearing becomes a major problem for less profitable industries, so if a company takes this step, it may result in less money to invest in the growth of the company.
A company may also source goods from a domestic supplier where possible, although the price will usually be higher than what it would have previously paid to a foreign supplier.
Tariffs may also hurt the country’s export business. According to Visual Capitalist, if fewer domestic dollars are sent abroad, the lower supply can increase the value of the currency and make the country’s exports more expensive to buyers.
In addition, targeted countries can also impose retaliatory tariffs. As a result, recently, China has increased tariffs on US agricultural and food products by 10 to 15 percent, and neighboring Mexico has also announced retaliatory tariffs, although the exact percentage is not known.
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