U.S. imports declined 4.5% within the 12 months following the April 2025 “Liberation Day” tariff announcement, whereas ocean containerized imports dropped 4.3%, based on a Descartes Datamyne evaluation of U.S. Census and bill-of-lading information.
The report compares Might 2025 by April 2026 with the previous 12-month interval, a span marked by the imposition, revision and eventual invalidation of tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump underneath the Worldwide Emergency Financial Powers Act (EEPA). It finds that commerce shifted away from China and towards Mexico, Vietnam, Taiwan and a number of other Southeast Asian sourcing places.
Import slowdown narrows deficit
Datamyne mentioned U.S. import development slowed instantly after the reciprocal tariff announcement, rose simply 1.7% 12 months over 12 months in April 2025, flattened from Might by July, and fell beneath prior-year ranges after the tariffs took impact in August.
The pullback in imports helped scale back the U.S. commerce deficit, the report mentioned. The month-to-month hole fell to $20.4 billion in October 2025, down 39% from September, earlier than widening once more. In June 2026, the deficit stood at $73.3 billion, down 5.6% from Might as imports and exports each declined, with imports falling extra sharply.
Imports rebounded 9% year-over-year in April 2026 after the Supreme Court docket’s February determination ending the IEEPA tariffs, based on the report.
Datamyne cautioned, nonetheless, that the tariff surroundings has remained unsettled. The IEEPA tariffs had been adopted by different commerce measures, together with Part 232 duties on metal, aluminum, autos and auto components, in addition to later Part 122 and Part 301 actions.
Mexico features; China loses share
Mexico prolonged its lead as the biggest U.S. import supply, with imports rising 6.6% within the 12-month comparability interval. Canada-origin imports fell 10.6%, whereas China slipped from the second-largest to the third-largest supply after a 40.4% decline in exports to the US, Datamyne mentioned.
Taiwan and Vietnam had been among the many main gainers. Taiwan-origin imports elevated 60.6% and Vietnam-origin shipments rose 47.8% within the preliminary April 2025 comparability cited by the report; continued development elevated each nations into the highest 5 U.S. import sources throughout the next 12 months.
India, in the meantime, recorded solely a 1.5% achieve over the complete comparability interval after earlier development was reversed amid escalating U.S.-India commerce tensions and better tariffs on Indian items. Nonetheless, that was sufficient to maneuver India into the highest 10 import-source rating, based on Datamyne.
The motion illustrates how sourcing selections had been influenced not just by the general tariff program however by country-specific charges, carve-outs and negotiated commerce preparations. The report famous 32 revisions to the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule in 2025 and 15 extra by Aug. 3, 2026, characterizing the tempo of change as an indication of outstanding coverage volatility.
Ocean volumes path prior 12 months
Waterborne import volumes, measured in twenty-foot equal models (TEUs), declined 4.3% throughout the 12 months after Liberation Day. Importers briefly accelerated shipments in July and August 2025 forward of the tariffs’ efficient date, however month-to-month volumes from September 2025 by April 2026 lagged the identical months a 12 months earlier.
China remained the dominant origin for U.S. ocean imports regardless of an 18% decline in TEU quantity. Vietnam’s waterborne quantity rose 16%, Thailand’s elevated 24%, and Indonesia entered the highest 10 ocean-import origins after a 21% enhance.
China additionally misplaced its main place to Vietnam in two key containerized consumer-goods classes:
Product class
China share
Vietnam share
Furnishings, HS 9403
31%
34%
Seats, HS 9401
40%
42%
(Chart: Descartes Datamyne)
China however remained the biggest supply for a number of high-volume import classes, together with auto and truck components, articles of plastic, toys, fridges and freezers, plastic kitchenware, and plastic packing supplies.
Autos decline as tech imports rise
The product combine additionally modified underneath the tariff regime. Car imports fell 9% and dropped to second place amongst main U.S. merchandise import classes, behind computerized data-processing machines.
The rise in ADP-machine imports helped drive Taiwan’s advance amongst U.S. import sources. Taiwan accounted for 39% of U.S. ADP-machine imports, based on Datamyne. The report famous that Taiwan’s waterborne quantity fell 8% regardless of an 83% enhance within the worth of its U.S.-bound imports, reflecting the function of airfreight for smaller, high-value expertise merchandise.
Thailand additionally gained significance within the expertise provide chain, accounting for 35% of U.S. integrated-circuit imports, the report mentioned.
Different modifications had been extra dramatic. Imports of articles of valuable metals fell 94%, contributing to Switzerland’s drop to 16 from the highest 10 U.S. import origins. Tariffs affecting prescribed drugs additionally weighed on Switzerland and Eire, Datamyne mentioned.
Persevering with uncertainty
The report emphasised that, for importers, carriers and logistics suppliers, the top of the emergency tariffs program didn’t restore a secure trade-policy surroundings. Different threats loom within the type of persevering with blanket, country-specific and sectoral tariffs, in addition to potential Part 301 measures tied to investigations of extra industrial capability.
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