Tariffs Didn’t Fix the Trade Deficit. They Just Made Life More Expensive.

Families feel the squeeze every time they shop for groceries, buy school supplies, or pay the monthly bills. Politicians promised that new tariffs would bring back jobs, lower costs, and shrink the trade deficit. They said tariffs were the cure. They were not.

The numbers tell the real story.

Creative Planning looked at U.S. trade data through the first eight months of each year. In 2024, America ran a $571 billion trade deficit. One year later, that deficit did not shrink. It grew to $714 billion. That is a 25 percent increase and a new record, as outlined in Creative Planning Investor Charlie Bilello's recent X post.

If tariffs were supposed to fix the trade gap, they failed.

On the other hand, they succeeded in doing something else: raising prices for families and making it harder to build things here at home. When tariffs push up the cost of steel, aluminum, and everyday goods, manufacturers do not get stronger. They get squeezed. And when manufacturers get squeezed, jobs disappear.

That is exactly what we have seen. Higher costs. More offshoring. A deeper trade deficit. Fewer opportunities for American workers.

We should be honest about what works and what does not. Tariffs are taxes by another name. They raise the cost of living, shrink family budgets, and make American businesses less competitive. They do not bring back jobs, and they do not repair our trade balance.

If we want real strength in the American economy, we should focus on policies that lower costs, expand choice, and give families room to breathe. That means more competition, fewer barriers, and a tax code that rewards work and investment, not one that punishes Americans with hidden taxes on the goods they need every day.

Tariffs did not solve the problem. They made it worse. It is time to move in a better direction.