The size of tradable US Treasury bonds has exceeded 30 trillion dollars for the first time. High-interest borrowing during the pandemic exacerbates the fiscal burden.

The size of tradable U.S. Treasury bonds held by the government exceeded 30 trillion dollars for the first time in November, doubling from 2018. According to data released on Thursday, the total size of Treasury bills, notes, and long-term bonds issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury increased by about 0.7% in November, reaching 30.2 trillion dollars. In response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the U.S. Treasury Department raised 4.3 trillion dollars through issuing bonds, resulting in a fiscal deficit of over 3 trillion dollars for that year. Guneet Dhingra, head of U.S. interest rate strategy at BNP Paribas, pointed out that the U.S. public finances have had a structural problem of "spending more than income" for the past 20 years, and issuing a large amount of debt at higher interest rates after the pandemic has made interest payments a key factor in further deteriorating fiscal dynamics. Although the U.S. fiscal deficit has narrowed since its peak in 2020, falling to around 1.78 trillion dollars in the 2025 fiscal year, this is largely due to the significant revenue brought in by tariffs this year. Interest costs are still rising rapidly, with debt interest payments in the 2025 fiscal year alone reaching 1.2 trillion dollars. Jason Williams, a interest rate strategist at Citigroup, said that tariff revenue could reach 300 to 400 billion dollars, but it is "still lower than interest payments on existing debt." He added that the U.S. fiscal situation is like sinking in quicksand, and relying solely on tariffs cannot reverse the trend, maybe it will sink slower, but sinking nonetheless. Although the Treasury Department has kept the size of most long-term bond auctions stable over the past two years and does not expect adjustments in the coming quarters, officials said last month they have begun "preliminary consideration of future issuance increases." Tradable U.S. Treasury bonds are the largest component of the overall national debt of the United States. As of November, the total size of the national debt reached 38.4 trillion dollars, including debts to social security trust funds, savings bondholders, and others. The current debt ceiling approved by Congress is 41.1 trillion dollars, covering this total size.