ChainCatcher message, the total sovereign debt issued by the U.S. Treasury has surpassed $30 trillion for the first time, more than doubling since 2018. Data released Thursday shows that as of November, the total amount of outstanding Treasury bills, notes, and bonds reached $30.2 trillion. This $30.2 trillion in debt is a major component of the total federal debt of the United States.
As of November, the national debt of the United States reached $38.4 trillion, including obligations to the Social Security Trust Fund, savings bondholders, and others. According to data from the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, the U.S. financed $4.3 trillion through the issuance of these three types of government bonds in 2020, with a fiscal deficit exceeding $3 trillion that year. Although the deficit has narrowed since then (falling to about $1.78 trillion in FY 2025), interest payments on the debt alone have reached $1.2 trillion.
Citigroup interest rate strategist Jason Williams pointed out: "The biggest challenge is interest expenses. Even if tariff revenues reach 300-400 billion USD, it is still far below the interest we pay on existing debt. We are like stuck in quicksand; tariffs may slow our sinking a bit, but we are still sinking." (Jin Ten)
