Trump exaggerates trade deficits with Canada, Mexico, China and the EU

Von WOM

Washington -President Donald Trump has greatly exaggerated the size of the US trade deficits with different countries for years. Now that Trump cites these trade deficits as a central justification for his customs policy, newly published state statistics show how wrong his figures are.

Understand trade deficits

previously published federal data for 2023 and part of 2024 had already shown that Trump's statements about the US deficits with Canada, Mexico, China and the European Union are far from reality. Now the Ministry of Commerce has published the figures for the entire year 2024, which show us exactly how much its information differs.

A brief note: A trade deficit with another country means that the United States is more and importing services from this country than exporting. Although Trump often describes trade deficits as subsidies or losses, a deficit not Give away.

trade deficit with Canada

Trump, the tariff from 25 % to as good as all products that has been imported from Canada, has repeated Have a trade deficit of "$ 200 billion" with Canada. Sometimes he expresses this claim Formulations about an alleged "200-billion dollar-subsidiary" or a loss for Canada.

But Trump's number is not even approximately correct. The new federal statistics show that the trade deficit with Canada in the goods and service trade in 2024 was $ 35.7 billion, dropped of $ 40.6 billion in 2023. Even if you only look at the trade in goods and the service trade ignores, the deficit with Canada in 2024 is 70.6 billion in 2024 Dollar, after $ 72.3 billion in 2023.

trade deficit with Mexico

Trump has also imposed tariffs of 25 % on products that are imported from Mexico. However, on Thursday A break until April 2, the tariffs on Mexican articles "Under" the US Mexico-Canada Agreement, which he signed during his first term. In an interview with FOX News in February said he, "we have a deficit with Mexico of $ 350 billion."

Here, too, reality deviates significantly. The new national statistics show that the trade deficit with Mexico in the goods and service trade in 2024 was $ 179 billion, after $ 162.1 billion in 2023. The deficit with Mexico in goods alone was $ 181.5 billion, after $ 161.4 billion in 2023.

trade deficit with China

Trump, who in his first two times a Series of Zöllen In an interview with Fox News Radio in February, said that "we have a deficit with China of over $ 1 trillion." He also repeated this number in a speech in February.

This number is also a massive exaggeration. According to the new national statistics, the trade deficit with China in the goods and service trade in 2024 was $ 263.3 billion, an increase of $ 252.1 billion in 2023- but still lower than in Allen years during Trump's first term.

The trade deficit with China in the goods trade alone was $ 295.2 billion in 2024, an increase of $ 278.7 billion in 2023.

trade deficit with the European Union

Trump has regularly and wrongly criticized for their trading practices. He in February to reporters that "the trade deficit with the European Union is about $ 350 billion." At a subsequent event in February claimed He, it was "about $ 300 billion deficit with the European Union."

wrong again. The new national statistics show that the trade deficit with the European Union in the goods and service trade in 2024 was $ 161.1 billion, an increase of $ 125.1 billion in 2023. In the warehouse alone, the deficit with the European Union was $ 236.7 billion, also increased of 201.6 billion in the year 2023. This means that Trump's claims about the deficit with the European Union are somewhat closer to the truth than his statements about Canada, Mexico and China, but they are still far from reality.