[dehrmann]

> using trade flows to measure the health of the economic relationship with these countries — any country, really, but particularly final assembly countries — is legitimately stupid

A simple way to see this is you have can a system of three countries, A, B, and C, where A only exports to B, B to C, and C to A. All have net neutral trade, but are in a deficit with someone.

[madcaptenor]

And this does happen (most prominently involving the Atlantic slave trade): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangular_trade