Finance & economics | Taking liberties

Trump thinks Americans consume too much. He has a point

He will not like the remedy, however

Illustration of the statue of liberty with a lot of shopping bags over her arms
Illustration: Alberto Miranda
|Washington, DC|10 min read

Rebalancing the global economy is Donald Trump’s defining cause. China should produce less and consume more, the president thinks; meanwhile, America should produce more by reindustrialising. There is a final logical step to this equation: America should also consume less.

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This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Taking liberties”

Finance & economics

June 7th 2025

From the June 7th 2025 edition

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