Trade balance explained: exports minus imports

Define the flows before calculating the balance

Exports record goods sent from an economy to other economies. Imports record goods brought in. Merchandise trade covers physical goods. Broader trade measures also include services, such as travel and professional services. Always establish which coverage a figure uses before comparing it with another trade total.

Statistics offices compile merchandise statistics largely from customs declarations and other shipment records. They classify the goods, record their values, and assign them to reporting periods. They may revise the totals when late records or corrections arrive. The US Census Bureau describes these collection and valuation rules in its trade statistics guide.

The balance subtracts imports from exports. A positive result means exports exceed imports for the selected coverage and period. A negative result means imports exceed exports. Neither sign explains the cause on its own. Read both flows to see whether a change came from exports, imports, or movements in both.

Calculate an illustrative deficit and surplus

All numbers in this example are illustrative. Suppose a country exports 189 billion currency units of merchandise and imports 275 billion in one month. The balance is 189 - 275 = -86 billion. It has a merchandise trade deficit of 86 billion currency units.

If the next comparable month has exports of 200 billion and imports of 260 billion, the balance is -60 billion. The deficit has narrowed by 26 billion, but the balance remains negative. Exports rose by 11 billion and imports fell by 15 billion. Both changes contributed to the smaller deficit.

For an illustrative surplus, exports of 280 billion and imports of 260 billion produce a balance of 20 billion. Keep the sign in calculations. Displaying a deficit as a positive amount can work in prose, but a chart of signed balances should retain the negative value.

Use the same currency and scale throughout. Subtracting an amount expressed in billions from one expressed in full currency units would produce a meaningless result.

Compare like-for-like coverage across countries

Goods-only trade and goods-and-services trade are different measures. A merchandise deficit cannot establish the balance after services are included. Narwhal's documented trade coverage is merchandise, and the coverage field makes that scope explicit.

Check valuation as well as coverage. Trade statistics can differ in whether recorded values include freight and insurance. Customs-based merchandise totals and balance-of-payments goods measures can also differ because statistical agencies make coverage and valuation adjustments. Read the national methodology before combining figures from different releases.

Match monthly totals with monthly totals and annual totals with annual totals. Where an official source publishes seasonally adjusted and unadjusted figures, use a consistent basis. A monthly movement can reflect recurring trade patterns as well as changes in demand or supply.

Monetary totals depend on prices and currencies. A higher export value does not by itself show that more goods were shipped. Avoid treating a nominal trade-value comparison as a comparison of physical quantities, and document any currency conversion separately.

Request the trade total or an individual flow

Use /v1/economics/{country}/trade to retrieve exports, imports, and their exact balance together. The period format is YYYY or YYYY-MM. The request below selects an illustrative month for USA.

Use /v1/economics/{country}/trade/exports or /v1/economics/{country}/trade/imports when you need one direction. Their responses identify flow and value. Unfiltered totals cover national merchandise trade. Partner and product filters return 404 until filtered totals are published, so do not treat an accepted filter parameter as evidence that the filtered data is available.

curl --request GET \
  --url "https://api.narwhalapi.com/v1/economics/USA/trade?period=2026-06" \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer $NARWHAL_API_KEY"

Read the amounts, currency, and coverage

This illustrative response uses decimal strings for exports, imports, and balance. All three monetary values use the currency named in currency. The balance is exactly exports minus imports, and it can be negative. The coverage value confirms that services are excluded.

These illustrative amounts match the first worked calculation: USD 189 billion minus USD 275 billion equals USD -86 billion. Keep full precision for subtraction and round only for display. Do not remove the minus sign when storing the balance.

The period identifies the month being measured, while released_on identifies the release date. Preserve both so a later release can be distinguished from a different observation period.

{
  "country": "USA",
  "period": "2026-06",
  "exports": "189000000000",
  "imports": "275000000000",
  "balance": "-86000000000",
  "currency": "USD",
  "coverage": "merchandise",
  "released_on": "2026-08-04"
}

Explore the trade data pages

Open Trade balance by country, Exports by country and Imports by country below to read the balance alongside its two components. Keep merchandise coverage and currency visible when presenting the figures. The Economics API reference explains the request and response contract.

“GDP vs GDP growth rate: levels, rates and revisions” provides context for exports and imports in national accounts. Its GDP discussion includes goods and services, so retain that distinction when moving between the guides.