[CTC] R-CALF USA Letter to Obama against Korea, other Bush FTAs

[Lori Wallach]

To paraphrase from the 2000 campaign, "It's the ratio, stupid."  This is
like going on a diet, exercising more, but ignoring the 4000 calories you
eat every day from a fast food restaurant.

Trade Deficit Widens as Exports Fail to Drive Recovery

July 19, 2010

News of US trade figures for May surprised the markets but should they have?
The US trade deficit, the [negative] difference between exports and imports,
increased 4.8% to $42.3 billion in May, a Wall Street Journal
<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704518904575364740801254292.h
tml?mod=dist_smartbrief> article reported the Commerce Department as saying
last week. That was the widest since November 2008. April's trade gap was
also revised upward from earlier estimates. The Commerce Department reported
US exports grew 2.4% to a 20-month high of $152.3 billion on the back of
higher sales of heavy machinery, medical equipment, power generation and
commercial planes an Associated Press
<http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gNiyJ905Ho0Ur96V2TQhsBX19
lGwD9GUDD8G0> article said. Imports however grew faster still, expanding
2.9% to $194.5 billion. The US trade deficit with China, America's largest
overseas trading partner (Canada is its largest trading partner), expanded
to $22.3 billion in May. This is the widest level since October and 15%
higher than the previous month. Imports expanded by $3.1 billion, far
outpacing a $162 million gain in exports.

But the US has been on a long-term trend of rising deficits interrupted
briefly by the financial crisis of 2008/9 and although many had been hoping
the slide in the value of the dollar would result in an export driven
recovery the reality is major export markets in Europe and Japan have been
equally depressed and hence not ready-made markets for US goods. It was
probably naive to expect US exports to lead the recovery any more than a
weak pound has resulted in an export led recovery for the UK. The reality is
both markets suffer from long-term structural problems of debt and lack of
competitiveness. Many point to currency manipulation as one reason why the
US will not be able to right the balance with China but the $22.3bn deficit
with China is only part (admittedly a large part) of a wider $42.3bn deficit
with the world at large.

. . .  Scott Paul, executive director of the American Alliance for
Manufacturing is quoted as saying, "The widening trade deficit is not only
an alarming trend, but also represents wealth and jobs heading overseas."
His organization will not be alone in calling for a tougher line to be taken
with China in particular as this recession drags on and the long awaited
recovery proves slow to come.

-Stuart Burns

http://agmetalminer.com/2010/07/19/trade-deficit-widens-as-exports-fail-to-d
rive-recovery/ 

 

 

 

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