Washington (AFP)

Rid of the threat of impeachment, President Donald Trump went straight to the election campaign with a master card: the good health of the American economy.

He had certainly arrived at the White House after the economy was cleaned up when his predecessor Barack Obama took office in a country plunged into recession after the 2008 financial crisis.

But the Trump administration has been able to ride on a rather favorable conjuncture, solid household confidence which continues to consume thus fueling growth.

- Employment, unemployment, wages

Under his tenure, the pace of job creation is comparable to the past two years Obama. On a monthly average, the American economy created 183,000 jobs in 2017, 225,000 in 2018 and 175,000 in 2019 compared to 195,000 in 2016 and 226,000 in 2015.

The unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in 50 years, at 3.5% compared to 4.7% in December 2016.

Notable fact: unemployment among Hispanics and blacks has dropped sharply since the former businessman was president, albeit much higher than that of whites.

The unemployment rate for African-Americans went from 7.8% in December 2016 to 5.9% in December. That of Hispanics from 5.9% to 4.2%. For whites, it melted, to 3.2% in December against 4.3% three years earlier.

The daughter and adviser of American President Donald Trump, Ivanka Trump works for a greater integration of women in the job market while many mothers are excluded from the labor market because they cannot keep their children at a price affordable.

Salaries have certainly increased (+ 2.9%) but have not "taken off".

- Growth

The world's largest economy has entered its eleventh year of expansion in a row, a record.

GDP growth was 1.5% in 2016, the last year of the Obama era. It reached 2.3% in 2017 before rising to 2.9% in 2018, the year in which the economy benefited from tax cuts and budgetary increases, notably military ones.

But it slowed to 2.3% last year due to the trade war with China which discouraged business investment.

If this level remains solid compared to the large developed countries (+ 1.2% in the euro zone for example), it remains far from the 3% promised by Donald Trump.

The fault of Boeing, the main contributor to American exports and its 737 MAX nailed to the ground for almost a year, said the US Secretary of the Treasury. Without this crisis, "I think we would have reached 3%," said Steven Mnuchin on Fox Business on Thursday.

For 2020, an election year, the International Monetary Fund anticipates a further slowdown, to 2%, due to the end of the effects of the tax reform.

- Budget deficit

A flagship measure of the mandate, the tax reform adopted at the end of 2017 - the most significant in 30 years - reduced income taxes for the wealthiest and cut corporate taxes from 35% to 21%.

These measures certainly boosted growth in 2018, but they also inflated the debt and the budget deficit, which should reach $ 1.015 billion at the end of the fiscal year in September, according to the Congressional Budget Services.

And debt is expected to represent 81% of GDP this year.

The administration is pervading the idea of ​​further tax cuts for the middle classes, a way to stimulate growth.

- Political commercial

Donald Trump had promised it before he was even elected, he did it: the renegotiation of the North American free trade agreement (NAFTA) with Mexico and Canada, considered the "worst treaty" of the history of the United States.

He promulgated on January 29 the new trilateral agreement known as AEUMC, acronym for Agreement United States Mexico Canada.

He can also boast of having obtained, as promised during his 2016 campaign, a trade agreement with China, signed in mid-January.

"Our strategy paid off!" Launched the president.

But at what cost? The trade war with Beijing, with reciprocal punitive tariffs, plunged the manufacturing sector into recession, and slowed American and world growth.

- Stock Exchange

The profile of Donald Trump, a business billionaire, has also contributed to confidence on Wall Street: the Dow Jones has increased by about 55% since his election on November 8, 2016. A not inconsiderable argument for many Americans whose retirement depends on stock market prices.

© 2020 AFP