The U.S. economy shrank 0.3% from January through March, first drop in three years. It was slowed by a surge in imports as companies in the United States tried to bring in foreign goods before President Donald Trump imposed massive tariffs.

Trump promised a new "golden age" for the U.S. But his first 100 days in office have left the economy looking tarnished, with data showing the economy contracted in the first three months of the year.

The January-March expansion was the slowest in almost three years and was down from 2.4 percent in the last three months of 2024.

Imports spiked at an annual rate of 50.9% the first three months of the year and the nation’s trade deficit widened by $14 billion to a record $162 billion in March. All told, the first quarter’s yawning trade gap subtracted about 5 percentage points from economic growth.

President Donald Trump has gotten worrisome news about how the U.S. economy is battening down for potential fallout from his tariffs

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the contraction in the U.S. economy had nothing to do with his tariff wars and predicted the economy would boom when tariffs kicked in.