US trade gap hits $566 billion - Highest since 2009

[_cinepro]

what happens to your goofy system here when there dozens of countries, and some the countries have different valuations for currency? Or intellectual property laws?

In this system, the more freedom people have to trade with people in other countries, the better off they are (and the freer they are).

Look at the United States. We have 50 states that have totally free trade.

But suppose we didn't. Would the people of the United States be wealthier and better off if each state treated its economy in isolation, and strove for the ideal of equal trade between each state? Would Maine need to freak out if they discovered they had a trade deficit with Rhode Island and that they shipped far more lobsters to Rhode Island than stuff they got back from Rhode Island?

Of course not.

Suppose that lawmakers in Oregon noticed that Nike was a valuable employer in the state, so they passed a law putting a high tariff on shoes made outside the state and totally ban shoes being imported from Texas because they don't like Texas' politics. So when a shoe buyer in Oregon goes to the store, they find that most the shoes on sale are Nike, and the other brands are priced much higher because of the tariff.

But a shoe buyer in Idaho goes to the shoe store and finds that in addition to the Nike shoes on display, they can choose from many different brands at all price levels and from all over the world.

While the Oregon law may seem to protect jobs for Nike, who is paying the price? Who is "freer" and "wealthier", the consumers in Oregon or Idaho?

Ultimately, "countries" don't trade with each other. It's individuals and business who trade with each other, and when people and businesses are given the freedom to trade, they are able to make the best decisions for them on what they want to buy and what they don't want to buy. The economy is too complex for any government to "manage" millions of trade decisions. Give the people the freedom to make their own choices, and that will bring the most wealth to a country, even if it puts pressure on certain companies or industries in the short run.

[_Maxine Waters]

I hold several state optometry licenses. It pays of a lot more to be an optometrist in some states than others depending on how much protection the respective state boards are able to provide. I wouldn't say the 50 US states have completely free trade between them.

[_subgenius]

I hold several state optometry licenses. It pays of a lot more to be an optometrist in some states than others depending on how much protection the respective state boards are able to provide. I wouldn't say the 50 US states have completely free trade between them.

same is true with architecture (and its licensing)....but perhaps some on this thread are confused about free trade and fair trade?

[_subgenius]

Trump's "thinking" is based on the outdated notion that we need to go back to the good old days of being a manufacturing country.

Just a quick note for ya, since you are unable to discern the difference between Trump's thinking and "a whole bunch of guys' who are way smarter than schreech thinking".

Warren Buffett who said, “The U.S. trade deficit is a bigger threat to the domestic economy than either the federal budget deficit or consumer debt and could lead to political turmoil.” ?

To help businesses sell more products abroad, we set a goal of doubling our exports by 2014--because the more we export, the more jobs we create here at home.

2011 State of the Union, Jan 26, 2011

21st century businesses, including small businesses, need to sell more American products overseas. Today, our businesses export more than ever, and exporters tend to pay their workers higher wages. But as we speak, China wants to write the rules for the world's fastest-growing region. That would put our workers and businesses at a disadvantage. Why would we let that happen? We should write those rules. We should level the playing field. That's why I'm asking both parties to give me trade promotion authority to protect American workers, with strong new trade deals from Asia to Europe that aren't just free, but fair.

Look, I'm the first one to admit that past trade deals haven't always lived up to the hype. But 95% of the world's customers live outside our borders, and we can't close ourselves off from those opportunities. More than half of manufacturing executives have said they're actively looking at bringing jobs back from China. Let's give them one more reason to get it done.

2015 State of the Union , Jan 20, 2015

[_schreech]

Trump's "thinking" is based on the outdated notion that we need to go back to the good old days of being a manufacturing country.

Just a quick note for ya, since you are unable to discern the difference between Trump's thinking and "a whole bunch of guys' who are way smarter than schreech thinking".

Warren Buffett who said, “The U.S. trade deficit is a bigger threat to the domestic economy than either the federal budget deficit or consumer debt and could lead to political turmoil.” ?

To help businesses sell more products abroad, we set a goal of doubling our exports by 2014--because the more we export, the more jobs we create here at home.

2011 State of the Union, Jan 26, 2011

21st century businesses, including small businesses, need to sell more American products overseas. Today, our businesses export more than ever, and exporters tend to pay their workers higher wages. But as we speak, China wants to write the rules for the world's fastest-growing region. That would put our workers and businesses at a disadvantage. Why would we let that happen? We should write those rules. We should level the playing field. That's why I'm asking both parties to give me trade promotion authority to protect American workers, with strong new trade deals from Asia to Europe that aren't just free, but fair.

Look, I'm the first one to admit that past trade deals haven't always lived up to the hype. But 95% of the world's customers live outside our borders, and we can't close ourselves off from those opportunities. More than half of manufacturing executives have said they're actively looking at bringing jobs back from China. Let's give them one more reason to get it done.

2015 State of the Union , Jan 20, 2015

Holy crap, your grasp of basic economics, trade deficits, international trade and manufacturing is so remedial i don't even know where to begin. You cherry picked a handful of sentences to try to somehow respond to one small part of my comment that you don't seem to understand to begin with. Let me dumb it down for you. Trade deficits affect all kinds of things and can, if unchecked, lead to devaluation of the dollar and a number of other icky things. We have a strong dollar right now and low unemploymen and and its been that way for the last 8 years or so. Just because we manufacture things here, doesn't automatically create a demand for them abroad or make them affordable to other consuming countries and doesn't automatically create a net increase in jobs or a net decrease in the trade deficit. China and other major manufacturing countries have all kinds of tools at their disposal to ensure their production is purchased here in the US.

The trade deficit and domestic manufacturing are two completely different things that do affect one another. The point is your cheeto-sh$%-stain of a president said he was going to decrease the trade deficit and failed. That is what this thread is about. Your unrelated google searches that you probably didn't read or understand have nothing to do with topic at hand. Please stop being an ignorant twat and don't forget to breathe...