Donald Trump lies with trade

deficits with the world

The United States has the world's largest trade deficit and

has run one since 1975. In 2015, the deficit on goods and

services was $500.4 billion, higher than the $490.2 billion

deficit in 2014. The deficit occurred because exports, at

$2.3 trillion, were lower than imports, at $2.761 trillion.

(Source: "U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services,"

U.S. Census Bureau.)

The U.S. trade deficit in goods alone was $762.5 billion,

2.4 percent higher than last year.

The United States exported $1.5 trillion in goods. The

biggest categories are commercial aircraft, automobiles

and food. It imported $2.3 trillion. The largest categories

are automobiles, petroleum, and cell phones. (Source:

"Foreign Trade Balance," U.S. Census Bureau.)

Why Can't America Just Make Everything It Needs?

The United States generally runs a deficit with countries

who fit at least one of the following three criteria:

1. They can produce things more cheaply than we

can, such as consumer products or oil. (Here's why

this is changing with U.S. production of shale oil).

2. They don't need what we are good at making, such

as agricultural products, industrial supplies (like

organic chemicals), capital goods (like transistors,

aircraft, motor vehicle parts, computers, and

telecommunications equipment), or high-end

consumer goods (like automobiles and medicines).

3. We trade a lot of everything with them, but we

happen to import more than we export.

Most of the trading partners that the United States runs

deficits with fall into the first two categories, but a few

(Canada, Mexico, Germany) fall into the last.

That's why the countries with which the U.S. runs the

largest trade deficits in goods are not always its most

important trading partners. Some nations export a lot

without importing much.

However, the top five trading partners also have the

largest deficits. (Please note that the Census provides

trade data by country for goods only, not services. )

1. Canada - $576.7 billion traded with a $15.5 billion

deficit.

2. China - $599.4 billion traded with a $367 billion

deficit.

3. Mexico - $532.1 billion with a $60.6 billion deficit.

4. Japan - $193.6 billion traded with a $68.6 billion

deficit.

5. Germany - $174.8 billion traded with a $74.9 billion

deficit.

The Largest Deficit Is With China

More than 40 percent of the U.S. trade deficit in goods

was with China. America's $367 billion deficit was

created by $483,2 billion in imports, primarily consumer

electronics, clothing, and machinery. It outweighed the

$116.2 billion in U.S. exports to China. (Source: "U.S. Trade

in Goods With China," U.S. Census.)

Note that many of the imports are U.S.-based

companies that ship raw materials to be assembled

cheaply in China. They are counted as imports even

though they create income and profit for these U.S.

companies.

Nevertheless, this practice does outsource jobs. For

more, see U.S. Trade Deficit With China.

Germany Is Next

The U.S. trade deficit with Germany is $74.9 billion and

growing. The U.S. exports $49.9 billion, a large portion of

which is automobiles, aircraft and pharmaceuticals. The

U.S. imports $124.9 billion in similar goods: automotive

vehicles and parts, industrial machinery and medicine.

(Source: "U.S. Trade Deficit With Germany," "U.S. Exports

to Germany," "U.S. Imports from Germany," U.S. Census.)

Japan Is the Third

The third largest trade deficit is $68.6 billion with

Japan.The world's fifth largest economy needs the

agricultural products, industrial supplies, aircraft and

pharmaceutical products that the U.S. makes. Exports

totaled $62.5 billion in 2015. Imports were higher, at

$131.1 billion. Much of this was automobiles, with

industrial supplies and equipment making up another

large portion. Trade has improved since the

2011 earthquake, which slowed trade and made

auto parts difficult to manufacture for several months.

(Source: "Trade Balance with Mexico," U.S. Exports to

Mexico," U.S. Census.)

The U.S. Has a Deficit With Its NAFTA Partners

Canada, the United States, and Mexico are partners in

the world's largest trade agreement, NAFTA. The U.S.

trade deficit with Canada is $15.5 billion. That's only 2.6

percent of the total trade of $575.7 billion. The United

States exports $280.6 billion, more than to any other

country. It imports $296.1 billion. By far, the largest export

is automobiles -- both the finished product and parts.

Other large categories include petroleum products, and

industrial machinery and equipment. The largest import is

crude oil and gas from Canada's abundant shale oil

fields. (Source: "Trade With Canada," "U.S. Exports to

Canada," "U.S. Imports from Canada," U.S. Census.)

The trade deficit with Mexico was $60.7 billion. Exports

were $235.7 billion, made up primarily of auto parts, and

petroleum products. Imports were $296.4 billion, with

crude oil being the largest component. (Source: "U.S.

Trade With Mexico," "U.S. Exports to Mexico," "U.S. Imports

from Mexico," U.S. Census.)

https://www.thebalance.com/trade-deficit-by-county-3306264