Weak Export Numbers Should Concern President Trump and Congress – National Taxpayers Union
Blogs
Media Appearances
Press Releases
Op-Eds
Issue Briefs
Center for Emerging Technologies
Federal Affairs
Free Trade Initiative
State Affairs
by Bryan Riley June 10, 2026
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is clearly excited about the just-released U.S. trade statistics for April. However, a closer look at the data shows more reasons for concern than celebration.
Trump advisor Peter Navarro added: “[T]he composition of trade is moving in precisely the right direction. Exports of goods and services hit a record $327.1 billion in April. Goods exports alone reached a record $221.3 billion. That is what a productive economy does.”
They’re disregarding some important facts.
U.S. exports of natural gas, oil, and petroleum products surged by $16.9 billion, largely due to the war with Iran. This 65.6% increase offset weak performance in other sectors. Exports of cars, trucks, nuts, meat, corn, wheat, medical equipment, boats, transportation and travel services, and financial services all fell.
Taken as a whole, non-petroleum exports of goods and services shrank by 2.9%, led by a precipitous 4.3% fall in non-petroleum goods exports.
Such a decline doesn’t happen organically. To the extent U.S. tariffs discourage imports, they reduce the ability of our trading partners to afford American-made exports. Ongoing efforts by the Trump Administration to maintain high import taxes by any means necessary effectively serve as a tax on American exports.
While one month’s change does not make a trend, the drop in non-petroleum exports of goods and services is nothing to celebrate. Instead, it should serve as a flashing warning sign to the Trump Administration and Congress that high U.S. tariffs are damaging the ability of Americans to export our goods and services around the world.
