Mexico’s trade surplus with the United States is up more than 20% this year
Mexico’s trade surplus with the United States increased more than 20% year over year in the first eight months of 2026, climbing to almost US $156 billion as Mexican exports to the U.S. reached a record high. The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Tuesday that Mexico’s exports to the United States totaled $419.34 billion between January and August, while its imports from the U.S. were worth $263.47 billion. Mexico thus recorded a trade surplus of $155.87 billion, an increase of 21.2% compared to its surplus with the U.S. in the first eight months of 2025. In August, Mexico recorded a trade surplus of almost $27 billion with its northern neighbor. Of all countries around the world, Mexico recorded the second-highest surplus with the U.S. between January and August, behind Vietnam . According to the Bank of Canada , “[a] trade deficit is not necessarily bad, and a trade surplus is not necessarily good.” In Mexico’s case...