GDP, measure of US economic output, shrinks in first quarter in 2025

The U.S. economy contracted in the first quarter of this year by 0.3% compared to the same time last year, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

The agency's Gross Domestic Product report is a measure of U.S. economic output. 

The report, covering the first three months of 2025, comes amid President Trump's across-the-board tariffs, part of a larger trade war in which the president is trying to get better deals for the U.S. 

GDP was expected to have grown at an annual rate of 0.3% in the first quarter, down from 2.4% in the previous quarter, according to Investopedia.

The report is considered one of the first "hard data" indicators showing the tariffs' economic impact but only a partial window, considering Trump didn't start imposing tariffs on a large scale until April.