China, in his words · Second term · № 110
Called China the leading candidate for "chief ripper-offer" of the United States
“We've been ripped off by every country in the world. But China, I would say, is the leading—the leading one—the leading candidate for the chief ripper-offer.”
- Said
- , Cabinet meeting, White House
- Subject
- trade deficit
- Threat
- Economic threat
- Topic
- Trade & tariffs
- Era
- Second term
What the record showed
Census Bureau data show the U.S. goods deficit with China fell from $297.0 billion in 2024 to $202.7 billion in 2025, as imports from China dropped from $440.3 billion to $308.7 billion and U.S. exports to China fell from $143.3 billion to $106.0 billion. The deficit for January through July 2026 was $91.2 billion. On May 27, 2026, after his state visit to Beijing, Trump said, "For years and years, they ripped us off like nobody ever got ripped off," and added that "now it's very profitable business that we do with China, and they respect our country again."