A balance-of-payments deficit, also called a current account deficit, occurs when a country's total payments to the rest of the world — for goods, services, and investment income — exceed what it receives. The U.S. has run a sustained current account deficit since the 1980s, meaning Americans consistently buy more from abroad than they sell. The Trump administration invoked this deficit as the legal basis for Section 122 tariffs in February 2026. The size and persistence of the deficit, rather than any sudden emergency, was the stated legal justification.