The US economy shrank in the first three months of the year as government spending fell and imports surged due to firms racing to get goods into the country ahead of tariffs. The economy contracted at an annual rate of 0.

The U.S. economy contracted for the first time in three years in the first quarter, swamped by a flood of imports as businesses raced to avoid higher costs from tariffs and underscoring the disruptive nature of President Donald Trump's often chaotic trade policy.

The US economy contracted at the start of the year for the first time since 2022 on a monumental pre-tariffs import surge and more moderate consumer spending, a first snapshot of the ripple effects from President Donald Trump’s trade policy.

U.S. stocks began Wednesday with a thud after a report suggested the U.S. economy may have shrunk at the start of the year. But the big losses eased as the morning progressed in the latest sharp swings to smack Wall Street amid uncertainty about what President Donald Trump’s trade war will do to the economy.

U.S. stocks are tumbling following a discouraging report suggesting the U.S. economy may have shrunk at the start of the year, before most of President Donald Trump’s announced tariffs could take effe