Headline Roundup • April 30th, 2025
US Economy Contracts 0.3% in Q1, Imports Increase Ahead of Tariffs
Summary from the AllSides News Team
The US economy contracted by 0.3% in the first quarter of 2025, marking the first contraction since early 2022.
The Details: The Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis' advance estimate for first quarter GDP showed the economy shrinking by 0.3% between January and March. Economists had predicted a 0.3% growth for the quarter. The last quarter of 2024 recorded 2.4% GDP growth. The contraction was largely due to an increase in imports ahead of President Donald Trump's tariffs and a decrease in government spending. These were slightly offset by increases in investment, consumer spending, and exports.
Key Quotes: Trump said, “This is Biden’s Stock Market.” Ryan Sweet, chief US economist at Oxford Economics said, "GDP is backward-looking but there was some good news as real final sales to private domestic purchasers, the engine of the economy, posted a decent gain. This will be tested as the economy is being hit now by several shocks, including tariffs, supply-chain stress, tighter financial market conditions and uncertainty, but the daily data imply that the engine of the economy didn't stall early this quarter."
How The Media Covered It: The New York Times (Lean Left bias) pointed out, “The first quarter figure was misleading, the result of quirks in the way government data measured the surge in imports as businesses and consumers raced to get ahead of expected tariffs. More reliable data on consumer spending and business investment suggested that growth slowed in the first quarter but remained fundamentally solid.” MarketWatch (Center) noted the record trade deficit shaved 4.8 percentage points off GDP.
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Featured Coverage of this Story
The U.S. economy contracted in the first quarter as President Donald Trump's economic agenda took effect, according to new data released on Wednesday.
The Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released its advance estimate for first quarter gross domestic product (GDP), which found the U.S. economy contracted at an annual rate of 0.3% in the first quarter, which runs from January through March.
Economists surveyed by LSEG had expected the economy to grow at a 0.3% rate in the quarter. The first quarter's 0.3% contraction was slower than the 2.4% GDP growth recorded in the...
AFP via Getty Images
The U.S. economy contracted in the first quarter of 2025 for the first time in three years, reflecting a surge in imports ahead of President Donald Trump’s tariffs and a slowdown in consumer spending.
Gross domestic product, the official report card on the economy, shrank at a 0.3% annual rate from January to March, the government said Wednesday. It’s the first contraction in GDP since early 2022.
President Trump’s tariffs have roiled financial markets and upended global trading patterns. Now they are disrupting measures of economic growth as well.
U.S. gross domestic product, adjusted for inflation, declined at an 0.3 percent annual rate in the first three months of the year, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. It was, on the surface, a stunning reversal from the strong growth at the end of last year, when the economy expanded at a 2.4 percent rate.
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