Credit ratings agency Moody's downgraded the United States rating to “Aa1” from “Aaa” Friday, due to the nation’s $36.2 trillion debt.
The United States’ rising debt and interest “are significantly higher than similarly rated sovereigns,” Moody’s said.
“Successive U.S. administrations and Congress have failed to agree on measures to reverse the trend of large annual fiscal deficits and growing interest costs,” Moody’s said in a statement.
“We do not believe that material multi-year reductions in mandatory spending and deficits will result from current fiscal proposals under consideration,” Moody’s continued. “Over the next decade, we expect larger deficits as entitlement spending rises while government revenue remains broadly flat.”
Nevertheless, Moody’s added: “The U.S. retains exceptional credit strengths such as the size, resilience and dynamism of its economy and the role of the U.S. dollar as global reserve currency. In addition, while recent months have been characterized by a degree of policy uncertainty, we expect that the U.S. will continue its long history of very effective monetary policy led by an independent Federal Reserve.”
Moody’s also stressed the country’s “strong monetary and macroeconomic policy institution” and the separation of federal powers into three branches.
Moody’s expressed concern over the extension of the tax cuts passed in President Donald Trump’s first term, noting: “If the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is extended, which is our base case, it will add around $4 trillion to the federal fiscal primary (excluding interest payments) deficit over the next decade.”
As a result, Moody’s foresees the U.S. federal deficit to reach 9% of its gross domestic product by 2035, up from 6.4% in 2024.