[Hoodat]

They sell their things to get dollars that are used to buy our exports.

No, they exchange their currency to get our currency. And with a weaker dollar, their currency buys a lot more US dollars.

Let's say we want to purchase Audis made in Germany. We would have to purchase Euros with US dollars in order to have the correct currency to purchase them. And in order for Germans to purchase Boeing Aircraft, they would have to purchase US dollars with their Euros in order to have the correct currency to purchase them.

When the dollar weakens, Europeans are able to purchase more dollars for their Euros, thus making the price of American goods less expensive in terms of their Euros. At the same time, it requires more dollars to purchase Euros, thus the price of European goods relative to the dollar goes up.

Your mistake is that you are assuming a zero-sum game in the short run. That is not the case. The fact that we even have a trade deficit quickly dispels that notion. When we run a trade deficit with Germany, dollar flow out of the US and Euros flow into Germany. And currency exchangers do a brisk business selling Euros and buying dollars.

[expat_panama]

No, they exchange their currency to get our currency.

This is good; we then consider the banks that make the exchange, how they then have to  trade those foreign notes back for our money with someone else who's importing something.  It's called the 'balance of payments' and it's always equal to zero.

If you want, you could get lots of good links about the balance of payments by googling "balance of payments".   FWIW, the BOP is tallied by the Bureau of Economic Analysis at the BEA's international data site, and at the top is a tab "glossary" where if you go to 'B' it starts with: 

Balance of payments. Record of transactions between U.S. residents and foreign residents during a given time period. Includes transactions in goods, services, income, assets, and liabilities. It is broken down into the current accounts (international), capital accounts (international), and financial accounts (international).

Balance on current account. Record of net receipts or payments on goods, services, income, and unilateral current transfers. Current transfers include U.S. government grants to foreign countries, private remittances, and other current transfers. Related terms: Balance on goods, Balance on goods and services.

Balance on current account, national income and product accounts. Current receipts from the rest of the world less current payments to the rest of the world, formerly called "net foreign investment." Current receipts equal exports of goods and services plus income receipts from the rest of the world; current payments are the sum of imports of goods and services, income payments to the rest of the world, and current taxes and transfer payments to the rest of the world (net).

Balance on goods. Record of the difference between exports of goods and imports of goods. Related terms: Balance on current account, Balance on goods and services.

Balance on goods and services. Record of the difference between exports of goods and services and imports of goods and services. In the broad sense, this balance is conceptually equal to net exports of goods and services, which is a component of gross domestic product (GDP). Related terms: Balance on current account, Balance on goods.

 

If you want, you could get lots of good links about the balance of payments by googling "balance of payments".   FWIW, the BOP is tallied by the Bureau of Economic Analysis at the BEA's international data site, and at the top is a tab "glossary" where if you go to 'B' it starts with: 

Balance of payments. Record of transactions between U.S. residents and foreign residents during a given time period. Includes transactions in goods, services, income, assets, and liabilities. It is broken down into the current accounts (international), capital accounts (international), and financial accounts (international).

Balance on current account. Record of net receipts or payments on goods, services, income, and unilateral current transfers. Current transfers include U.S. government grants to foreign countries, private remittances, and other current transfers. Related terms: Balance on goods, Balance on goods and services.

Balance on current account, national income and product accounts. Current receipts from the rest of the world less current payments to the rest of the world, formerly called "net foreign investment." Current receipts equal exports of goods and services plus income receipts from the rest of the world; current payments are the sum of imports of goods and services, income payments to the rest of the world, and current taxes and transfer payments to the rest of the world (net).

Balance on goods. Record of the difference between exports of goods and imports of goods. Related terms: Balance on current account, Balance on goods and services.

Balance on goods and services. Record of the difference between exports of goods and services and imports of goods and services. In the broad sense, this balance is conceptually equal to net exports of goods and services, which is a component of gross domestic product (GDP). Related terms: Balance on current account, Balance on goods.