President Donald Trump’s tariffs have reduced the United States’ trade deficit with China, ensuring that, for the first time since 2000, China is no longer the top U.S. trading partner with the largest trade deficit.
An annual report from U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer details how Trump’s tariffs have helped recenter the nation’s trade policy to one that focuses on gains for America’s working and middle class.
“Evidence from the past year demonstrates the America First Trade Policy is working,” Greer writes:
Since the President began implementing his policy in April 2025, the trade deficit in goods decreased, on a year-over-year basis, every month through December 2025. Further, the largest driver of our overall trade deficit in goods—our trade deficit with China—was down 32 percent, year-over-year, in 2025. For the first time since 2000, China is no longer the trading partner with which the United States has its largest trade deficit. In other words, in one short year, the United States has substantially diversified its import sources and reduced its import dependency on China. [Emphasis added]
Meanwhile, Greer writes, American production is on the upswing as a result of tariffs.
“In January 2026, a leading indicator based on surveys of U.S. manufacturers signaled that factory activity expanded for the first time in over two years,” Greer writes. “Manufacturing productivity improved steadily in 2025, reversing a troubling steady decline — in absolute terms — in recent years.”
Last year, for the first time since 1999, the U.S. surpassed Japan in crude steel production, making the U.S. the third largest steel producer in the world, just behind China and India.
Wages, Greer writes, are rising and expected to continue to rise through 2026.
“Real personal disposable income, as adjusted for inflation, grew at 1.6 percent in 2025, and average earnings in the private sector are estimated to have increased by over $2,700 in President Trump’s first 12 months in office,” Greer writes.
“In the second half of President Trump’s first year — when tariffs were fully in place — the real economy grew at an annualized rate of 2.3 percent, despite the government shutdown forced by Congressional Democrats,” Greer continues. “It’s not just rhetoric; the data tell the story. America is back.”
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter here.
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