When you deal with President Trump you have to take the good with the bad, because he will say one thing politically and economically it means something else.

In an article from the New York Times News Service, President Trump views the US trade deficit as bad for the economy. He wants more things produced in the US, which in itself is not a bad thing to want.

However, supply systems had grown up for particular reasons in technology to where they are. The supply systems means much of the design of the systems is done in the US which pays higher salaries and much of the manufacturing is done in Asia. The combination of lower salaries and improvements in container shipping, so that products could be delivered in short term periods helps explain why the supply system grew up like it did.

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has been a force propelling the economy and the stock market which is the good thing. The bad thing for the trade deficit is US imports of computers, computer accessories and semiconductors topped more than $450 billion over the past year. This number is 60% higher than the previous number.

The US overall goods imports reached $3.4 trillion last year. The 2025 trade deficit grew to a record $1.2 trillion. The countries which increased their trade deficits were Taiwan, South Korea and China.

Brad Setser, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, believes unless there is a shock that reduces planned investments, 2026 will also have a larger US trade deficit.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, when you are investing, politicians say one thing, the economics can say something else and you are investing int he economy. Unless your investment is being targeted by the regulatory departments, it is always better to listen to the economy, not the politicians.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.