WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy rebounded this spring from a first-quarter downturn caused by fallout from President Donald Trump’s trade wars.

In an upgrade from its first estimate, the Commerce Department said Thursday that U.S. gross domestic product — the nation’s output of goods and services — expanded at a 3.3% annual pace from April through June after shrinking 0.5% in the first three months of 2025. The department had initially estimated second-quarter growth at 3%.

The first-quarter GDP drop, the first retreat of the U.S. economy in three years, was mainly caused by a surge in imports — which are subtracted from GDP — as businesses scrambled to bring in foreign goods ahead of Trump’s tariffs. That trend reversed as expected in the second quarter: Imports fell at a 29.8% pace, boosting April-June growth by more than 5 percentage points.

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John Raulet, a partner in Raulet Property Partners, stands in the soundstage at Mailing Street Stageworks, Tuesday, August 26, 2025, in Atlanta. Raulet’s company has either converted or sold off all but one of its soundstages amid a downturn in film production in the U.S. (Jason Getz / AJC)

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com