President Donald Trump delivers remarks on tariffs at the White House in Washington, D.C., on April 2, 2025. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
It’s been a year since President Donald Trump announced widespread tariffs on many U.S. trading partners, a move he billed as “Liberation Day.” Today, a majority of Americans are skeptical of his handling of the issue: Nearly six-in-ten adults (58%) are not too or not at all confident that Trump can make good decisions about U.S. trade policy, and 63% express little or no confidence in his handling of tariff policy, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.
The survey also shows that Americans’ attitudes toward trade relations with the United States’ top three trading partners – China, Canada and Mexico – have shifted somewhat since last year.
About this research
This Pew Research Center analysis examines Americans’ attitudes toward U.S. trade policy, including relations with three key partners: China, Canada and Mexico.
Why did we do this?
Pew Research Center does research to help the public, media and decision-makers understand important topics. This analysis builds on our previous work examining Americans’ views of U.S. trade with China, Canada and Mexico.
Learn more about Pew Research Center.
How did we do this?
For this analysis, we surveyed 3,507 adults from March 23 to 29, 2026. Everyone who took part is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel. The survey represents the views of the full U.S. adult population.
Here are the survey questions used for this analysis, the detailed responses and the survey methodology.
Data on trade between the U.S. and its major trading partners comes from the Census Bureau’s monthly report on international trade published March 12.
How Republicans and Democrats view Trump’s handling of trade and tariffs
Confidence in Trump’s handling of U.S. trade and tariff policy differs by party and age.
Republicans and Republican-leaning independents are about six times more likely than Democrats and Democratic leaners to express confidence that Trump can make good decisions on trade policy (74% vs. 12%).
Older Republicans and Democrats are furthest apart on this question: 84% of Republicans ages 50 and older are confident in Trump on this issue, including 48% who are very confident in him. By contrast, 92% of Democrats ages 50 and older are not confident in Trump’s handling of trade policy, including 69% who are not confident at all.
There are also demographic differences in views of Trump’s decision-making around tariff policy, which we asked about separately. Across partisan and age groups, Americans are more skeptical of his ability to make good decisions about tariffs than his handling of trade.
Related: Americans largely disapprove of Trump’s tariff increases
Views of U.S. trade with China, Canada and Mexico
We also asked Americans to evaluate the trade relationships between the U.S. and its top three international trading partners: China, Canada and Mexico.
Trade with China
- The largest share of Americans (42%) continue to say that China benefits more than the U.S. from their trade relationship. But this is down slightly from 46% in 2025.
- As was the case last year, only about one-in-ten Americans (11%) say the U.S. benefits more than China.
- About a quarter (24%) say both countries benefit equally.
- An additional 4% say neither country benefits from their trade relationship, and 19% aren’t sure.
Trade with Canada
- The largest share of Americans (37%) say Canada and the U.S. benefit equally from their trade relationship. But this is down from 44% last year.
- Around one-in-five (21%) now say Canada benefits more than the U.S., down from 26% last year.
- Relatively few Americans say the U.S. benefits more than Canada: 12% hold this view today, up slightly from 10% last year.
- Another 4% say neither country benefits from the trade relationship, while 25% aren’t sure, up from 17% in 2025.
Trade with Mexico
- More than a quarter of Americans (28%) say Mexico and the U.S. benefit equally from their trade relationship, down from 34% last year.
- Similarly, fewer Americans now say Mexico benefits more than the U.S. does: 22% hold this view today, down from 29%.
- By contrast, Americans have become more likely to say the U.S. benefits more than Mexico: 22% say this in the latest survey, up from 16%.
- Another 4% of Americans say neither country benefits from the trade relationship. And 24% aren’t sure, compared with 18% in 2025.
Partisan views of U.S. trade relations with top partners
Republicans are generally more likely than Democrats to say that China, Canada and Mexico benefit more than the U.S. does in their respective trade relationships. Democrats, in turn, are more likely than Republicans to think both trade partners benefit equally. This mirrors partisan attitudes in 2025.
Since last year, however, Republicans have become less likely to say the other countries benefit more from trade with the U.S.
For example, 36% of Republicans now say Canada and Mexico benefit more than the U.S. does from their trade relationship, down from 46% who said this about each country last year.
This year, both Republicans and Democrats are less certain about which countries benefit more from trade, especially when it comes to relations in North America. When asked about U.S. trade with Canada, 22% of Republicans and 25% of Democrats say they are not sure which country benefits more, if at all – up from 16% each.
How much trade is there between the U.S. and its top trading partners?
How trade deficits between the U.S. and key partners have changed since 2024
Figures on a balance-of-payments basis, in millions
Note: Figures are seasonally adjusted by geography.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, “U.S. Trade in Goods and Services by Selected Countries and Areas, 1999-present” (Tables 1-9).
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How trade deficits between the U.S. and key partners have changed since 2024
Figures on a balance-of-payments basis, in millions
YearCountryExports – GoodsExports – ServicesImports – GoodsImports – Services2024China$144,248 $55,025 $439,564 $21,861 2024Canada$350,409 $90,267 $419,666 $57,035 2024Mexico$334,436 $50,415 $515,587 $45,136 2025China$107,338 $56,650 $308,807 $23,296 2025Canada$336,866 $89,552 $390,144 $60,685 2025Mexico$338,337 $52,395 $541,353 $44,021
Note: Figures are seasonally adjusted by geography.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, “U.S. Trade in Goods and Services by Selected Countries and Areas, 1999-present” (Tables 1-9).
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China, Canada and Mexico together accounted for 31.5% of all U.S. imports and 28.6% of all U.S. exports in 2025, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. But their status as major sources of imports to the U.S. – as well as leading destinations for American exports – has long complicated attempts to narrow the nation’s overall trade deficit. (A trade deficit occurs when imports exceed exports; when exports exceed imports, it’s a trade surplus.)
For decades, America’s largest bilateral trade deficit was with China. But in 2025, the deficit with Mexico eclipsed it for the first time this century:
- Imports from Mexico grew 4.4% from 2024 to 2025, while exports to Mexico rose just 1.5%. The overall U.S.-Mexico trade deficit rose to a record $194.6 billion.
- Trade volume between the U.S. and China dropped off dramatically, with imports from China tumbling 28.0% and exports falling 17.7% from 2024 to 2025. The U.S.-China trade deficit narrowed from $262.2 billion to $168.1 billion.
- Canada remained the second-largest source of imports to the U.S. and the largest destination for U.S. exports, even as total trade volume fell 4.4%. The U.S.-Canada trade deficit narrowed from $36.0 billion to $24.4 billion.
All told, about $2.4 trillion in goods and services moved between the U.S. on one hand and China, Canada and Mexico on the other in 2025. That’s down from $2.5 trillion in 2024.
The total U.S. trade deficit rose $911.7 billion in 2025, compared with $903.5 billion in 2024. That means the U.S. imported almost $912 billion more in goods and services from other countries than it exported to them.
Note: Here are the survey questions used for this analysis, the detailed responses and the survey methodology.
