WASHINGTON — The U.S. trade deficit in goods and services narrowed sharply in April, falling to $61.6 billion compared with $138.3 billion in March as tariffs clamped down on global trade.

U.S. goods imports fell significantly in April, dropping 16.3% from March, the data released by the Commerce Department showed, as tariffs on exports from China and other countries weighed on trade. The sharp drop reflected the fact that importers had rushed to bring many goods into the United States at the beginning of the year to get ahead of tariffs ordered by President Donald Trump, who has raised the U.S. tariff rate on a variety of industries and trading partners to levels not seen in a century.

Exports rose slightly, up 3% from the previous month. — The New York Times