One Economic Number Has Vexed Trump for Decades
The New York Times
The trade deficit has long drawn the president’s ire. Now, he’s preparing to take it on again.
To President Trump, one economic number represents everything that is wrong with the global economy: America’s trade deficit.
That deficit is the total value of what the United States imports from other nations, minus its exports to other countries. The fact that America runs a trade deficit reflects how the nation’s appetite for foreign goods now far outpaces what U.S. factories and farms send abroad.
Official data released on Wednesday morning showed that the U.S. trade deficit widened to nearly $1.2 trillion in 2024, a record.
For Mr. Trump, the fact that the United States imports more goods than it exports is a sign of economic weakness and evidence that the world is taking advantage of America. While the country’s trade deficit has been widening for years, that gap could end up being a key reason Mr. Trump decides to impose tariffs on Europe, China, Canada, Mexico and other governments.
Mr. Trump rolled out a dramatic series of trade actions against Canada, Mexico and China in recent days, signing executive orders to put tariffs on all three nations in what he said was an effort to stem the flow of drugs and migrants to the United States.
But he also cited the trade deficit as he talked about tariffs writ large, making clear that the gap between what America sells and what it buys remains top of mind for Mr. Trump.
