Office of the United States Trade Representative

04/02/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/02/2026 11:17

Liberation Day One Year Later: Protecting American Jobs and Delivering Greater Market Access for American Farmers, Ranchers, and Manufacturers

WASHINGTON - One year ago, President Trump used tariffs to protect American workers and bring the world to the negotiating table. The President's trade program is addressing decades of non-reciprocal trade practices that have undermined America's global competitiveness. Tariffs and trade deals are delivering tangible results for American workers and their families, decreasing our trade deficit, securing trade deals, reshoring production lines, and putting money back in American workers' pockets.

"On Liberation Day, President Trump hit the reset button on the distorted global trading order to correct long-standing trade imbalances and advance the prosperity of American workers and their families," said Ambassador Greer. "President Trump's trade agenda continues to stack up wins for American farmers, workers, and manufacturers, reversing decades of unfair trade practices while increasing market access to over 2 billion consumers. The Made in America agenda is incentivizing companies to invest and build in America, bringing jobs and production lines back to U.S. soil. The best is yet to come as President Trump's tariff program incentivizes domestic production, raises workers' wages, and reinforces our critical supply chains."

Here are the facts:

Shrinking the Overall U.S. Goods Trade Deficit: The overall U.S. goods trade deficit has decreased 24% from April 2025 through February 2026 compared to the same period a year earlier.

Improving Bilateral Trade Balance: Since Liberation Day, the U.S. bilateral goods balance improved with over 61% of our trading partners when compared to the same period a year prior. For example:

  • China: The United States goods trade deficit with China declined by 30% in 2025, creating more balanced trade between the world's largest economies.
  • European Union: From April 2025 through February 2026, the U.S. goods trade deficit with the European Union decreased 45% compared to the same period a year earlier.
  • Switzerland: For the first time since 2012, the United States started to run a goods surplus with Switzerland.

Securing Deals Covering Half the World's Population: From Buenos Aires and Brussels to Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur, President Trump continues to ink dealswith our trading partners spanning the globe.

Expanding Market Access for U.S. Exports: Americans are exporting more than ever thanks to President Trump expanding Americans' market access to hundreds of millions of consumers.

  • U.S. goods and services exports reached a record high in February, totaling over $314 billion.
  • From corn and eggs to dairy and canola, U.S. food and agricultural exports rose by double digitsin 2025 under President Trump compared to the previous administration.

Driving Historic Gains in Industrial Production in Manufacturing: Since President Trump was elected in November 2024, the industrial production indexcontinues to trend upward, reaching its highest level since 2020.

  • For the first time in over 25 years, the United States surpassedJapan in crude steel production as a result of the President's tariff program.
  • Manufacturing labor productivity registered its highest annual increase in fifteen years.

Blue-Collar Wages Increase: In one-year, blue-collar wages have made upall the losses realized under four years of Biden administration.

  • Under President Trump's leadership, private sector workers have seen strong, tangible wage gains, growing, on average, more than $1,400 in just one year - decisively outpacing inflation.
  • Blue-collar workers are benefiting from the Trump economy, with manufacturing workers wages up by an average of $1,800, construction workers up by an average of $3,000, and mining and logging up by an average of $1,900.

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Office of the United States Trade Representative published this content on April 02, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on April 02, 2026 at 17:17 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]