[adjejmxbdjdn]

What’s the problem with the trade deficit?

Americans are getting actual products and services in return for depreciating IOUs.

It’s like a loan where the lender pays interest.

Why would anyone be against that?

Note: This is different from the strategic interest in maintaining domestic industries. That’s very defensible. But I don’t understand the fear of a trade deficit denominated in your own currency (other countries have bigger genuine concerns with a dollar denominated trade deficit, because if their currency falls against the dollar suddenly, they’re kind of screwed, at least in the short term).

[kelseyfrog]

The US imports more goods than it exports. It also exports more services than it imports. The US Department of Commerce breaks down the numbers for import and export by goods and services[1].

Sure, the US benefits by having cheap goods. This means precisely that there's more money chasing services. It's why we have cheap televisions(yay!) but expensive healthcare, education, housing. Those things cannot be made elsewhere and imported into the US to benefit from the power of trade imbalance.

1. Page 14 of 56. https://www.bea.gov/sites/default/files/2026-06/trad0426.pdf