The Trump administration looks to redefine trade metrics to give the impression that the trade deficit is larger than it is. According to The Wall Street Journal, individuals associated with these talks have suggested that the team looks to remove any goods first imported into the country then sent to a third nation from the list of US exports.
Manipulating how exports and imports are defined shifts the balance of trade, which is calculated by taking the total amount credited from selling exports overseas and subtracting the amount debited to pay imports. If the administration follows through with the aforementioned suggestion, then it would insinuate that our nation sells less goods and buys far more from places like China, Taiwan, Mexico, and other nations.
This would fuel Trump’s protectionist fires, as some economists suggested, giving the President additional grounds for jamming controversial trade policies through. According to Trump’s logic, if his administration lowers the number of exports, then it will increase the trade deficit.
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Here’s How The Trump Administration Plans To Inflate The Statistics About The Trade Deficit CC: @benshapiro https://t.co/MRG6FVLA5s
— Elliott Hamilton (@ElliottRHams) February 20, 2017
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