2016 U.S. Merchandise Trade Deficit: $734,316,300,000

CNS NEWS ^ | February 7, 2017 | Terence P. Jeffrey

[xzins]

The United States ran a merchandise trade deficit of $734,316,300,000 in 2016, according to data released today by the Census Bureau.

During 2016, the U.S. imported $2,188,940,500,000 in goods but exported only $1,454,624,200,000.

The People’s Republic of China was the greatest contributor to the U.S. merchandise trade deficit for the year. The U.S bilateral merchandise trade deficit with China was $347,037,900,000. This deficit resulted from the U.S. importing $462,813,000,000 in goods from China while exporting only $115,775,100,00 in goods to China.

[xzins]

We imported 4 times more from China than they bought from us.

Somethings wrong in River City.

[txrefugee]

Pres. Trump should highlight this disastrous report. He is totally right about every country on the planet taking advantage of the USA.

[xzins]

The part that is hidden is that most of the stuff we bring in from China is so low priced due to slave wages that it forces our businesses to keep our workers’ wages low just to compete. OR it forces them to shut their doors. OR it forces them to look for a low-cost labor market to move their business to.

The anti-tariff/tax folks will say that these things will increase the cost of goods on the shelf for American consumers.

What they fail to say is that those low prices mean we lose jobs, low-ball pay, or lose manufacturing altogether.

I’d rather pay a bit more for higher quality US goods and have fewer shirts or trousers or whatever AND have fewer pairs of them, than to have no job at all.

[aquila48]

Do you ever wonder what the Chinese do with those billions of dollars they get from us? You know they eventually have to spend them here somehow or keep them in a lock box...

[central_va]

Using slave labor can only go so far. Most goods are only 5-8% cheaper made in China. It is a myth that Chinese made goods are massively cheaper than domestic made goods. That would imply the free trade is actually helping the USA. It is not.

When you buy a retail product made in China you are paying for slave 3rd world labor true; but paying first world prices for marketing, corporate staff salaries, engineering, testing, warehousing, shipping, stock dividends and CEO bonuses. The worst of all worlds.

So a small tariff would offset the 3rd labor advantage.

[mlo]

"In the international trade area, the language is almost always about how we must export, and what’s really good is an industry that produces exports. And if we buy from abroad and import, that’s bad. But surely that’s upside-down. What we send abroad we can’t eat, we can’t wear, we can’t use for our houses. The goods and services we send abroad, are goods and services not available to us. On the other hand, the goods and services we import, they provide us with TV sets we can watch, automobiles we can drive, with all sorts of nice things for us to use. The gain from foreign trade is what we import. What we export is the cost of getting those imports. And the proper objective for a nation as Adam Smith put it, is to arrange things, so we get as large a volume of imports as possible, for as small a volume of exports as possible."

"This carries over to the terminology we use. When people talk about a favorable balance of trade, what is that term taken to mean? It’s taken to mean that we export more than we import. But from the point of view of our well-being, that’s an unfavorable balance. That means we’re sending out more goods and getting fewer in. Each of you in your private household would know better than that. You don’t regard it as a favorable balance when you have to send out more goods to get less coming in. It’s favorable when you can get more by sending out less."

Milton Friedman

[riverdawg]

“I’d rather pay a bit more for higher quality US goods and have fewer shirts or trousers ...”

You can still buy a made-in-the-USA all-cotton dress shirt, but it will most likely cost you +$100. I like Gitman Bro. shirts if/when I find them at a year-end or clearance discount. Some online merchants sell vintage Sero shirts at around $50. Here is one list of US-made shirts:

http://www.americanologist.com/2014/12/15-sources-of-quality-mens-dress-shirts-made-in-usa/

[newgeezer]

Friedman ROCKS. Thanks for sharing that.

[raybbr]

You know they eventually have to spend them here...

Got any links to what they are spending on here?

[Angels27]

This is one of the reasons Trump won.

[Roger Kaputnik]

“Do you ever wonder what the Chinese do with those billions of dollars they get from us?”

I don’t know what they do with ALL of it, but they are buy homes WITH CASH. Which I think is partially responsible for the insane home prices out here.

[xzins]

It’s got to take a lot of money to build islands in the middle of the ocean. Wonder what that costs?

[xzins]

Mexico has a 16% tax on our goods that are sold there. We have a typical state sales tax of approx. 6% on Mexico’s goods sold here.

I would think a 10% tax would just get us even with them.

[spintreebob]

Some FReeper please provide info on the total picture:
This report is on Merchandise only.

What are the trade numbers on ag products: corn, wheat, rice, apples, etc?
What are the trade numbers on raw material: lumber, coal, oil, minerals, etc?
What are the trade numbers on partially finished parts allegedly with final assembly in the US?
What are the trade numbers on intellectual property: Movies, books, software, etc?
What are the trade numbers on currency fluctuations?
What are the trade numbers of fraud, theft of intellectual proerty, etc?
What other trade categories are there?
Are finished autos, trucks, airplanes called merchandise?

MERCHANDISE
Then, to help us understand it, Of all non-food products in Walmart/Sams, Target, Home Depot, Lowes, 84-Lumber, Sears, Macys, Dollar General, Walgreens, CVS, etc

What percentage of the retail sales amount (not the price before mark downs) goes to China? To other foreign workers?
Does it make a difference if it is a domestic company with plants offshore or a foreign company with plants in the US?
What percentage of the retail sales amount goes to government taxes and compliance with government edicts?
What percentage of the retail sales amount goes to assistant manager and line employee costs including wages, non-mandated benefits, etc?
And to contractor/ temp agency workers?
What percentage goes to back office staff: IT, etc?
What percentage goes to management?
What percentage goes to cost of equipment, real estate, utilities, overhead, etc?
What percentage goes to marketing, PR, United Fund and other charities?

[xzins]

I’m willing to pay more for things that last longer. And the truth is, I’m content with 3 or 4 sets of clothing that mix or match.

A good friend ran a textile plant down south that went overseas, and they were by no means overpaying their employees.

[xzins]

So, if you run a fruit stand, you’re ahead if you buy more goods than you sell? That doesn’t makes sense to me.

[central_va]

The tariff isn’t the problem, it is the 40 years of globalist brain washing that is the problem.

[Lord Castlereagh]

It makes perfect sense. It’s not really possible to do, but if you could do it, you’d be in heaven.

[xzins]

Yep. The middle class, in order to get what it thought it was getting in terms of life, military, family, and budget, agreed to support some ideas such as ‘free trade’ that were contrary to their interests. Their so-called allies always gave them the lousy economic plans, and then failed to deliver on life, military, family, and budget.

Trump is offering the three legs of the stool: economic, moral, and defense. And he means it.

We haven’t had that since Reagan.