Portugal’s trade deficit widened by around 15% in the first nine months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024.
It means that in a year plagued by a high degree of economic and geopolitical uncertainty and the US tariff wars, the gulf between what Portugal buys and sells has got wider.
To November, Portugal accumulated a trade deficit of €29,079 million in the exchange of goods overseas according to data from Portugal’s National Statistics institute (INE) released on Friday.
The amount compares with a deficit of €25,287 million for the same period in 2024 meaning that the commercial trade deficit has widened to Portugal’s detriment by €3,709 million.
Since the start of 2025 there had been a deterioration in the deficit of commercial goods almost every month (with the exception of the summer months), at a time when the European Union began negotiating a trade agreement with the United States to end the uncertainty created by the unpredictable policies of Donald Trump – a trade agreement which came into force on September 1, 2025.
SOURCE: Negócios/INE