Poll shows 47% of Americans see large US trade deficit as economic emergency

About half of Americans view the large US trade deficit with other countries as an economic emergency, according to a poll released on Tuesday (November 4), a day before the Supreme Court is due to consider the legality of sweeping tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump under a law meant for emergencies.

The poll, commissioned by the Alliance for American Manufacturing, found that 47% of respondents view the persistently large US trade deficit as an emergency.

This sentiment was shared across party lines, according to the poll, with 47% of Democrats and 57% of Republicans among the respondents agreeing.

The policy group led by the United Steelworkers union and domestic manufacturers said 40% of the 2,202 adults surveyed believed that trade deficits eroded the US economy and weakened national security. In contrast, 20% saw trade deficits as a sign of economic strength, with strong demand promoting global trade.

The remaining 40% believed neither characterisation was correct, or did not know enough to answer, the group said.

Read more: US manufacturing mired in weakness as tariff gloom spreads

The poll, conducted by Morning Consult in mid-October, has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Wednesday (November 5) about the legality of tariffs imposed by Trump on nearly every country, after a lower court ruled that he had overstepped his authority in imposing most of his tariffs under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA.

Trump is the first president to invoke the statute to impose tariffs, arguing that a $1.2 trillion US goods trade deficit in 2024 constituted a national emergency.

The IEEPA gave Trump the fastest path to imposing tariffs on goods imported from countries to address trade deficits, as well as separate tariffs as economic leverage on China, Canada and Mexico to curb the trafficking of fentanyl and illicit drugs into the US.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he expects the Supreme Court to uphold the IEEPA-based tariffs. But if it strikes down the tariffs, Bessent said in an interview, the administration will simply switch to other tariff authorities, including Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, which allows broad 15% tariffs for 150 days to calm trade imbalances.