U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer: 'The U.S. Has a Massive $1.2 Trillion Trade Deficit'

The White House tweets a quote of U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer about the trade deficit.

"The U.S. has a massive $1.2 trillion trade deficit. So @POTUS declared a national emergency and imposed tariffs, and we're confident that the deal we struck with our Chinese partners will help us towards resolving that national emergency." –@USTradeRep Jamieson Greer pic.twitter.com/0QVgjEHm3m

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 11, 2025

Some are signaling that waiting until the full details are exposed and the markets have reacted may be the prudent thing to do in analyzing the deal.

Front page of the NY Post is already reporting US-China trade deal has been completed.

Maybe let’s wait for the actual details tomorrow first? pic.twitter.com/9lEOCRc5RC

— Tom (@TradingThomas3) May 11, 2025

The details coming out Monday are going to be very interesting. It is now clear that the entire objective from the beginning was not a sustained trade war but to set the stage for a negotiation. The financial media was completely wrong on this. And those that traded expecting… pic.twitter.com/SDaDdeYRBV

— Peter Mallouk (@PeterMallouk) May 11, 2025

It is difficult to analyze a deal the details of which are yet unknown. It is important to get these things right. In some cases that takes time, more time than may be within the comfort zone of some negotiators. National emergencies cannot be ignored, and expeditious work to deal with them is warranted when they arise. Hopefully, these are steps in the right direction. Time will tell.