Though the US trade deficit has been stubborn , and tends to be the largest by dollar volume of any nation , even the most extreme months as measured by percent of GDP there are nations that are far more noteworthy . Case in point , post 2015 Nepal earthquake , Nepal 's trade gap ( in goods & services ) was a shocking 33.3 % of GDP although heavy remittances considerably offset that number . According to the US Department of Commerce Bureau of Economic Analysis ( BEA ) , January 27 , 2017 report , the GDP " increased 4.0 percent , or $ 185.5 billion , in the fourth quarter of 2016 to a level of $ 18,860.8 billion . " In 2018 , the year that a trade war with China was launched by U.S. President Donald Trump , the U.S. trade deficit in goods reached $ 891 billion , the largest on record
2015 Nepal earthquake
April 2015 Nepal earthquake
Foreign trade of the United States