The Financial Post reports in its Thursday, May 1, edition that the U.S. economy shrank at a 0.3-per-cent annual pace from January through March, the first drop in three years. An Associated Press dispatch to the Post reports that the economy was slowed by a surge in imports as companies in the United States tried to bring in foreign goods before U.S. President Donald Trump imposed massive tariffs. The January-March expansion in gross domestic product -- the country's output of goods and services -- was down from 2.4 per cent in the last three months of 2024. Imports shaved five percentage points off first quarter growth. Consumer spending also slowed sharply. Federal government spending plunged 5.1 per cent. However, business investment rose at a 21.9-per-cent clip as firms poured money into equipment. And a category within the GDP data that measures the economy's underlying strength rose at a healthy 3-per-cent annual rate from January through March, up from 2.9 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2024. This category includes consumer spending and private investment but excludes volatile items such as exports, inventories and government spending.