Mr. Trump said that he would wipe away the trade deficit. Aside from the fact that this is a foolish goal, his trade disputes have achieved quite the opposite. A reduction in the bilateral trade deficit is a meaningless measure of success because when one deficit goes down, many others go up; (i.e. the deficit with China is going down, but it is offset by rising bilateral deficits elsewhere, including with Vietnam and Mexico. Imports from China are also down 12 percent, but exports to China are down 19 percent" hurting framers and maufacturers. He & "his unrepentant protectionists have made wild claims about what big tariff hikes and aggressive negotiating tactics will achieve. Let’s pick the top five claims. Have any actually panned out? The answer will not come as a surprise. (It’s no.)"
At www.nytimes.com
