US Treasury debt surpasses $30 trillion for first time

US dollar. (Photo: Getty images)

This figure has doubled since 2018, as a result of a huge wave of debt during the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to data released on December 4, the total value of US Treasury bills, bonds and bonds increased by about 0.7% in November 2025 to reach 30.2 trillion USD.

The main reason for this situation is the record wave of borrowing in 2020 to finance spending packages related to the COVID-19 pandemic, combined with higher interest rates that have pushed the burden of interest costs to alarming levels.

Guneet Dhingra, head of US interest rate strategy at BNP Paribas, said the rising debt burden stems from a persistent mismatch between government revenues and expenditures over the past two decades. The situation has been exacerbated since the COVID-19 pandemic, as much of the new debt has been borrowed at higher interest rates. That makes interest costs a significant factor in worsening the US fiscal picture.

According to the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), the US borrowed $4.3 trillion through Treasury issuance in 2020 when the budget deficit exceeded $3 trillion. While the fiscal deficit in 2025 has shrunk to about $1.78 trillion – largely thanks to revenue from new tariffs on imports – interest and principal payments on the debt will still total a whopping $1.2 trillion.

Jason Williams, an interest rate strategist at Citigroup, warned that the biggest challenge now is interest costs. He likened the US to being “stuck in quicksand” and said that tariffs alone cannot get it out. According to Williams, even if the revenue from tariffs reaches $300-400 billion, this figure will still be much lower than the interest payments on existing debt.

Looking ahead, while the size of long-term debt auctions has been steady over the past two years, US officials said last month they were beginning to consider raising the size of future issuance.

Treasury debt is the largest component of the total national debt, which totaled $38.4 trillion in November 2025. This figure includes Social Security and Savings Bond holders, among other debts. The statutory debt ceiling currently stands at $41.1 trillion.

Source: https://vtv.vn/no-trai-phieu-kho-bac-my-lan-dau-tien-vuot-moc-30000-ty-usd-100251205154334266.htm