AI Buildout Drove U.S. Import Increase Despite Climbing Tariffs -- Market Talk

1741 ET - The Trump administration's flurry of U.S. tariffs didn't stop imports from rising last year thanks to a glut of spending on AI infrastructure and an early rush to import before tariffs took effect, according to an analysis from the Dallas Fed. The average U.S. tariff rate increased by almost 12 percentage points in 2025, the largest jump since the Great Depression, creating an expectation that spending on U.S. imports would decline sharply, Fed researchers say. Instead, U.S. imports grew by 4.5% last year, they say. Were it not for heightened AI-related importing and countries front-running to beat tariff impositions early in the year, U.S. import growth would've likely been negative, the researchers say. (dean.seal@wsj.com) (END) Dow Jones Newswires October 06, 2026 17:41 ET (21:41 GMT) Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. The statements in this document shall not be considered as an objective or independent explanation of the matters. Please note that this document (a) has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research, and (b) is not subject to any prohibition on dealing ahead of the disse