Greg Mankiw, an economist at Harvard, said it’s a pity that the term “trade deficit” found common usage. It would be just as accurate to speak of America as having an “investment surplus,” a term that connotes the country’s economic strengths.

Far from being ripped off, Americans benefit from importing cheaper and/or better goods, which enhance our quality of life in myriad ways. Moreover, trade is part of a circular movement not only of goods but also of money. The US trade deficit of $918.4 billion last year was the mirror image of a $918.4 billion capital surplus, or infusion from overseas.

Sooner or later, all of the net $918.4 billion that Americans spent on foreign goods was invested in American capital assets such as stocks, real estate, bonds, or short-term assets such as Treasury bills.

https://rogerlowenstein.substack.com/p/trumps-tari...

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