U.S. Treasury Department Debt Surpasses $30 Trillion

BlockBeats News, December 5th. The total amount of sovereign debt issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury has surpassed $30 trillion for the first time, more than doubling since 2018. Data released on Thursday shows that as of November, the outstanding Treasury bills, notes, and bonds of the U.S. government reached $30.2 trillion. This $30.2 trillion debt is a significant part of the U.S. federal total debt.

As of November, the total U.S. national debt has reached $38.4 trillion, including debts to the Social Security trust fund, savings bondholders, and others. According to the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association data, in 2020, the U.S. financed $4.3 trillion through issuing the three types of bonds mentioned above, with a fiscal deficit exceeding $3 trillion that year. Although the deficit has since narrowed (to about $1.78 trillion in the 2025 fiscal year), interest payments alone on the debt amount to $1.2 trillion.

Citigroup's rate strategist Jason Williams pointed out, "The biggest challenge is interest payments. Even if tariff revenue reaches $300-400 billion, it is still far less than the interest we pay on existing debt. We are like sinking in quicksand, tariffs may slow our descent a bit, but we are still sinking." (Xinhua)