The U.S. trade deficit — a measure of the difference between what the country imports and what it exports — rose sharply in August to hit a 17-month high, after also rising significantly in July, data from the Commerce Department showed Tuesday.

The trade deficit grew to $105.6 billion in August, a 13.7% increase from July, driven by an increase in imports of petroleum, gold and chips used for artificial intelligence. It was the largest monthly total since before President Donald Trump imposed his global tariffs in April 2025, and larger than any monthly trade deficit in the last year of the Biden administration.

The widening trade deficit stemmed from rising imports, which outpaced the growth in exports. U.S. imports hit a record $420.8 billion in August, climbing 4.3% from July. Exports grew 1.4% compared with July, hitting $315.2 billion.

The trade deficit has tended to increase over time as the U.S. economy grows. But the Trump administration has viewed the metric as a sign of weakness in America’s manufacturing sector. Officials have tried to reduce the trade deficit by imposing hefty tariffs on everything from toys and steel to drones and auto parts made outside the United States.

The lack of success in lowering the trade deficit is clearly partly a result of the AI boom. The United States imported more than $90 billion worth of semiconductors in the first eight months of this year, the data showed, almost double the amount in the same period last year.Trump officials have blamed the disruptions to their tariff plan for the increase in the trade deficit. The Supreme Court struck down many of Trump’s tariffs in February, saying he had misused an emergency law to impose them. Since then, the administration has put a lower tariff of 10% to 12.5% in effect on many products.

Since Trump came into office for a second time, the average monthly trade deficit has been $74.5 billion. That’s just slightly above the monthly average for the last year of the Biden presidency, at $73.8 billion.

Emmys

TV awards show to move to streaming

The biggest showcase for the television industry is leaving broadcast television.

Amazon Prime Video won the distribution rights to the Emmy Awards, the Television Academy announced Tuesday, putting the industry’s signature event exclusively on a streaming service. The Emmys telecast, which rotated among the four broadcast networks for decades, will start streaming on Amazon in September 2027 as part of a six-year deal.

The Emmys will stream for free and not require a Prime Video subscription, the academy said. Amazon will also make the event available all over the world.

It’s the second major awards show that will soon be available only over the internet. In 2029, the Oscars will leave their longtime home, ABC, and head over to YouTube.

Media

ABC makes its case against FCC review

A lawyer for ABC on Tuesday asked a federal judge to prevent the Trump administration from conducting an unusual, early review of its broadcast licenses, likening it to a looming execution by guillotine that was already chilling the network’s editorial decisions.

U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan did not immediately rule on ABC’s request for a preliminary injunction.

A government attorney argued that, as a procedural matter, the court doesn’t have jurisdiction over ABC’s case because it belongs in a different venue. The government also challenged the network’s First Amendment arguments, and said ABC had failed to show it suffered irreparable harm.

A ruling was not expected until at least mid-October.

— From news services