Winning a trade war, the US has tasted the sweet fruits! On August 27, US Treasury Secretary Bernanke stated that the tariff policy has significantly reduced the budget deficit, which was previously underestimated. Tariff revenue increased significantly from July to August, and I believe the increase from August to September will be even greater. Therefore, I think we may approach a target of over $500 billion, even close to $1 trillion. This government, your government, has significantly reduced the budget deficit.
Evidently, after calculating the numbers, Bernanke's joy is clearly visible. In short, by waging a trade war, the US government has indeed tasted the sweet fruits. However, Bernanke is clearly only counting the tax accounts, but obviously not counting another account. In fact, according to the latest data released by the US Department of Labor, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in July rose 2.7% year-on-year. Excluding the more volatile food and energy prices, the core CPI rose 3.1% year-on-year in July, higher than 2.9% in June, with a monthly increase of 0.3%, the largest rise since January.
This means that the tariffs are mainly borne by the American people. Moreover, Bernanke claimed that this government has significantly reduced the budget deficit. However, the latest data published by the US Treasury shows that as of August 11, 2025, the total federal government debt of the United States exceeded $37 trillion for the first time. Obviously, the US debt has not decreased, but continues to expand. The US uses tariffs to fill the fiscal gap, which may be a way for the US government, but it is far from enough to solve the fundamental problems.
Original article: www.toutiao.com/article/1841579748301834/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.