Have you ever been to China?
Try to find ANYTHING there that is made here at any store on the street. Let me know when you do.
The only real exports we have to China are food and airliners.
Your free trade argument is bogus.
Seriously, if the Chinese make goods cheaper for Americans, that makes the American buyers of those goods richer. Getting more for your money is the same as having more money. Everyone forgets about that side of the equation when talking about trade. The author is correct, a trade deficit is not a loss.
And China is working hard to end any need to import commercial airliners from the US, with the assistance Boeing, unfortunately.
The trade imbalance is why food prices are climbing. We export food and import manufactured goods. Manufactured goods are higher on the value chain than agri products. Hence we lose.
China’s new aircraft carriers are being paid for with the US trade deficit. Those carriers will kill Phillipinos, Indonesians, Malaysians, Australians, Japanese and Americans. Simple math.
And we send them our good food and get their tainted food back!!