Trump’s Tariffs Are Aimed at a Trade Deficit Driven by Popular Goods

Since President Donald Trump took office for his second term, he has implemented a whirlwind of tariffs with a goal of eliminating US deficits with trade partners that he sees as evidence of unfair economic relationships. These moves have sent markets into a frenzy and heightened recession fears as the US and other trade partners, including longstanding trade allies, launch retaliatory tariffs.

One of Trump’s goals is to boost domestic production, but the US trade deficit with the rest of the world is a result of broader factors powering the US economy. These include the dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency, Americans’ appetite for cheap goods from abroad, as well as company supply chains that extend across several different countries and took decades to develop.

Trump has focused his tariffs — and tariff threats — toward major trade partners including China, Mexico, Canada and the European Union, while also targeting specific sectors like steel and aluminum from all exporters. These graphics highlight partner-specific trade policies, rather than sector-specific ones.

In 2024, the US ran a net $1.2 trillion trade deficit in goods, meaning a higher value of goods was imported than exported.

The 701 squares below are the biggest contributors to the deficit, with each square representing the US trade deficit for one product from a specific partner that represented at least 0.05% of the total gap. Trump has levied tariffs on many of these as of March 13, but not yet on others, such as cars from Japan and South Korea, energy products from Saudi Arabia and pharmaceuticals from India.

• Tariff imposed
• Tariff threatened
• Not specifically targeted

In addition, the US ran smaller deficits on tens of thousands more products from specific trade partners, and ran surpluses on even more — all of which could be affected by escalating trade disputes.