Trump, who has imposed 25% tariffs on almost all products imported from Canada, has repeatedly said this year that the US has a “$200 billion” trade deficit with Canada – sometimes making the claim explicitly and sometimes using vaguer language about a supposed $200 billion subsidy or loss to Canada.

President Trump took action postponing for one month new tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico that fall under the three nations' free trade deal.

The tariff actions, which could upend nearly $2.2 trillion in two-way annual U.S. trade, went live hours after Trump declared that all three countries had failed to do enough to stem the flow of the deadly fentanyl opioid.

The U.S. international trade deficit widened 34% in January to $131.4 billion, the Commerce Department said Thursday. It’s the widest deficit going back to the start of the series in 1992.

The US trade deficit widened to a record in January as companies scrambled to secure goods from overseas before President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on America’s largest trading partners.

The U.S. trade deficit widened to a record high in January amid front-loading of imports ahead of tariffs, suggesting that trade could be a drag on economic growth in the first quarter.