Trade Deficit Elimination Act of 2026

This legislation establishes a framework to address and eliminate bilateral deficits in the trade of goods, which Congress finds undermine national security and economic interests. It mandates the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to annually identify and designate "trade deficit economies" based on official trade data, publishing a list of these partners and the value of their deficits. Following this designation, the USTR, under the President's direction, is authorized to impose, modify, or suspend additional duties on goods imported from these trade deficit economies with the goal of eliminating the bilateral trade deficit. Exemptions are provided for articles critical for national security, essential raw materials, or goods not sufficiently available from other sources. The USTR is also empowered to negotiate bilateral trade agreements with designated trade deficit economies to substantially reduce deficits. These agreements would include commitments from the partner country to correct deficit-contributing policies, increase purchases of U.S. goods, or restrain their exports to the United States, with all authority explicitly limited to that delegated by Congress.