President Trump on Wednesday touted the decline in U.S. trade deficit ahead of official data showing a small reduction in the country’s overall balance of trade.

In a Wednesday night post on Truth Social, the president claimed credit for reducing the trade deficit — the difference between the value of U.S. imports and exports — through tariffs he imposed last year.

Trump claimed to have cut the trade deficit by 78 percent in the Truth Social post, which came less than 12 hours before the U.S. Census Bureau released the official figures.

“THE UNITED STATES TRADE DEFICIT HAS BEEN REDUCED BY 78% BECAUSE OF THE TARIFFS BEING CHARGED TO OTHER COMPANIES AND COUNTRIES,” the president claimed.

But the Census Bureau data released Thursday showed the trade deficit falling by only 0.2 percent in 2025, from $903.5 billion in 2024 to $901.5 billion last year.

During his second term, Trump’s tariff policy has rattled markets around the globe, increased economic uncertainty and strained relationships with historic U.S. allies like Canada and the European Union.

Trump has also been dealing with anxieties about the economy from the American public as the country approaches the 2026 midterms.

Last week, six House Republicans came together with Democrats to pass a resolution to roll back Trump’s tariffs on Canada. The move by the six Republicans marked a notable defeat for Trump and Republican House leadership.

The vote, 219-211, came in the wake of a House GOP revolt against leadership over the administration’s handling of trade policy.

Trump’s lead White House economic adviser also recently suggested that a group of Federal Reserve researchers should face punishment over a paper looking into the costs of the president’s tariffs.

National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, in a recent interview, criticized a new paper from Federal Reserve Bank of New York economists. According to the economists, consumers paid for 90 percent of the costs of Trump’s import taxes.

Updated Feb. 19 at 10:56 a.m. EST

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.