US budget deficit soars in 2019 to just under $1 tn, highest since 2012

Washington, United States — America’s budget deficit soared to nearly $1 trillion in the 2019 fiscal year as government borrowing swelled, the US Treasury announced Friday.

The deficit jumped by 26 percent to $984 billion, the highest since 2012, as spending outstripped tax receipts in the wake of the 2017 Republican-led tax cuts.

Tariffs imposed in President Donald Trump’s multi-front trade confrontations brought in $30 billion in the year ended September 30, according to the Treasury.

“President Trump’s economic agenda is working,” Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said in a statement.