The US economy contracted for the first time in three years to start 2025 as a surge in imports dragged down GDP and prices increased more than forecast.  The Bureau of Economic Analysis' advance estimate of first quarter US gross domestic product (GDP) showed economic growth contracted at an annualized rate of 0.

The U.S. economy contracted for the first time in three years in the first quarter, swamped by a flood of imports as businesses raced to avoid higher costs from tariffs and underscoring the disruptive nature of President Donald Trump's often chaotic trade policy.

The first quarter decrease follows the U.S. economy growing by 2.4% in the fourth quarter of 2024, after increasing 3.1% in the third quarter, according to the BEA. The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s GDPNow, a running estimate of real GDP growth based on available economic data, projected a -2.7% GDP growth rate in the first quarter of 2025.