The U.S. international trade deficit widened 34% in January to $131.4 billion, the Commerce Department said Thursday. It’s the widest deficit going back to the start of the series in 1992.

The U.S. trade deficit widened to a record high in January amid front-loading of imports ahead of tariffs, suggesting that trade could be a drag on economic growth in the first quarter.

The U.S. trade deficit surged in January, as import growth dwarfed a smaller increase in exports. Imports rose 10% to $401.2 billion, while exports climbed by 1.2% to $269.8 billion. That yielded a total deficit - of both goods and services -- of $131.