January 17, 2003

DO DEFICITS REALLY MATTER?

Trade Deficit Swells to Record $40.1B(Jeannine Aversa, January 17, 2003, Associated Press Writer)
To combat the deficit, the Bush administration says the United States should seek to boost American exports by attacking foreign trade barriers, rather than raising barriers to imports coming into the country.

On Wednesday the administration announced it had cleared away the last hurdle to a free trade agreement with Singapore, wrapping up a deal a month after a similar one with Chile.

The administration hopes these agreements, which must be approved by Congress, will serve as a springboard to an even bigger prize, a free trade agreement covering 34 nations in the Western Hemisphere.


And here I thought the Bush administration was a protectionist, tariff-loving bunch.
Posted by Stephen Judd at January 17, 2003 7:39 PM
Comments

Trade deficits, like "high" taxes, are situational.



It depends what you do with what you buy.



Britain ran a considerable trade deficit with

the eastern Baltic for 500 years. At the end

of that period, Britain was the richest, most

powerful nation in the world; and the eastern

Baltic was poor and miserable.



A deficit run to get oil is a very good deficit

indeed.

Posted by: Harry at January 17, 2003 11:00 PM

when are high taxes good?

Posted by: at January 18, 2003 12:03 PM

Noname: When the government uses them to do what the private sector cannot. Depending on your politics, that may be always, often, seldom, or never.

Posted by: Tom Roberts at January 18, 2003 12:06 PM

Also, when you're trying to keep the Nazis out.

The highest taxes ever imposed and the

highest national expenditure in history

came in 1944. Do you wish they had

economized?

Posted by: Harry at January 18, 2003 1:57 PM

In 1980 Mexico had about 8 US assembly plants for autos, today there are about 40 major plants plus many related plants. When you talk about the balance of trade remember that those plants used to be in the US.



Or to look at it another way, politicans keep saying every billion in trade creates 100,000 jobs. Well, how many jobs does a 35 billion negative trade balance represent?



I would not advocate protectionism except against those countries that use official or unoffical barriers against US products. Europe and Japan do this effectively while China doesn't need to since their consumer market is small.

Posted by: TJ Jackson at January 20, 2003 12:30 AM

Harry:



I wish we'd stayed out, since we'd no intention of settling the Soviet's hash at the same time.

Posted by: oj at January 20, 2003 10:37 PM
« ATLAS SHRUGGED, AGAIN: | Main | COURTESY IS NEXT TO CLEANLINESS: »