Over 100 countries secure from reciprocal tariffs as they run trade deficit with US

Trump signs executive order on retaliatory tariffs

President Donald Trump’s signing of an executive order on reciprocal tariffs  has led to widespread speculations as to which countries will likely face the ire of the president. A Moneycontrol analysis of World Bank data shows that the US had a surplus with 110 nations, as many as it had a deficit with, in 2023.

The report is titled World Integrated Trade Solution.

However, to the president’s dismay, the number of countries with which the US runs a surplus has reduced over the last three years.

While the US had a merchandise trade surplus with 125 out of 222 nations in 2012, four years prior to Trump stepping into office for the first time, the number declined to 116 when Trump entered office.

By the end of his term in 2016, the number increased to 120 out of 220 nations. In 2023, 110 countries had a trade deficit with the US.

Trump is again trying to turn the tide in the US’s favour.

However, neither Trump nor his predecessorJoe Biden has been able to control the burgeoning deficit in terms of value.

The number of countries with which the US runs a surplus has shrunk, while its deficit with countries that run a merchandise trade deficit has ballooned over the last decade.

While it had a surplus of $155 billion with 125 countries in 2012, this reduced to $110 billion by 2016. Since then, it has risen to $133 billion with 110 countries.

Trade with India, other nations

On the other hand, it ran a deficit of $1.12 trillion with 97 countries in 2012, which rose to $1.24 trillion by 2020 and further to $1.56 trillion by 2023, as per World Bank data.

US runs the largest trade surplus with the Netherlands at $33 billion, followed by Australia and the UAE.

The US runs the largest deficit with China, of around $300 billion, followed by Mexico at over $200 billion.

The US runs a deficit of around $40 billion with India. It has increased from $22.2 billion in 2020 and $19.1 billion in 2016.

Increasing deficits

While the US has reduced its deficit with China since 2016, it runs a lower deficit now than it did in 2016, when Trump was first elected to office, deficits with Mexico, Canada and Vietnam have increased since then.

Of the top 50 countries with which the US runs a deficit, China and Russia are the only partners with which it has improved its standing. With China, the deficit has come down by $52 billion to $322 billion.

On the other hand, deficit with Mexico has nearly doubled to $230 billion from $120 billion in 2016.