China, in his words · Before politics · № 10
Called the trade deficit with China 'one of our greatest national security threats'
“America's trade deficit with China is one of our greatest national security threats. Time for Fair Trade. We must produce our own products.”
- Said
- , Post on Twitter (@realDonaldTrump)
- Subject
- deficit as security threat
- Threat
- Economic and military
- Topic
- Trade & tariffs
- Era
- Before politics
What the record showed
The U.S.-China tariff war began in 2018, and the average U.S. tariff on Chinese goods stood at 19.3 percent in February 2020. The goods deficit with China was larger in each of Trump's first-term years ($375.2 billion in 2017, $418.2 billion in 2018, $342.6 billion in 2019, $308.0 billion in 2020) than the $295.2 billion recorded in 2011. In 2025 the deficit was $202.7 billion; U.S. goods exports to China that year were $106.0 billion, compared with $104.1 billion in 2011.