The U.S. trade deficit increased to a record high in March, as the looming threat of President Donald Trump's imminent tariffs fueled stockpiling by importers, who sought to build their inventories before their costs spiked or items became unavailable. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) said the goods trade deficit"the difference between imports and exports"was $163.5 billion during the month, an 11.2 percent increase from February. There is a trade deficit if imports exceed exports, and a surplus if the difference is the other way around. There was a smaller trade surplus for services in March, at $23 billion, down by $800 million from February.