Since 1989, the United States has enacted numerous free trade agreements with countries around the world. These agreements have increased trade, improved international relations, and strengthened the U.S. economy. But don’t let the facts stop a good political fight. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), enacted in 1993, inspires …
Is open trade and investment good for China but bad for the U.S.? The Heritage Foundation’s China Global Investment Tracker has just been updated. Through June 30, it shows over $60 billion in Chinese investment in Latin America. This worries some people. They think that China is gaining economic benefits …
In 1987, President Ronald Reagan explained the relationship between federal spending and the U.S. trade deficit: “Here in the United States, we must restrain government spending. Our trade deficit in goods and services reflects that, over the past several years, we have spent more than we have produced—and we have …
Today marks the 81st anniversary of the passage of the Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act. Actor and economist Ben Stein famously explained this legislation in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, the classic John Hughes movie that was released 25 years ago this month: In 1930, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, in an effort …
The U.S. Commerce Department today announced that the trade deficit for April was $43.7 billion. This number is misleading because it implies a “deficit” in terms of dollars leaving the country, which is not the case. For example, the trade deficit numbers do not include the billions of dollars foreigners …
The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis just announced that the trade deficit for March increased to $48.2 billion. The federal budget deficit plays a major role in creating U.S. trade deficits. When the government sells Treasury bonds to finance the budget deficit, it competes with U.S. exporters and private borrowers …
Several U.S. political leaders have recently reiterated their desire to punish countries that undervalue their currencies. News flash: Since June 7, 2010, the value of the U.S. dollar has fallen 17.3 percent. If the United States gives countries a green light to designate low currency rates as an unfair trade …
