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Trade Deficit with China, US Trade in Goods with China, US-China trade deals signed 9 November 2017, USA Trade
While watching BBC World News America on Thursday, November 9, 2017, I was surprised to hear our president say that he doesn’t blame China for America’s trade deficit with that country. This change of tone occurred during his recent state visit to China.
With President Xi Jinping by his side, President Trump told business leaders inside Beijing’s Great Hall of the People: “I don’t blame China. After all, who can blame a country for being able to take advantage of another country for the sake of its citizens?” [Read the complete news report at BBC Online News.]
While still describing the relationship as “very unfair” and “one-sided,” Trump blamed past US administrations for allowing our trade deficit with China to grow. As indicated in the chart below, showing US Trade in Goods with China 2004-2016, the trade deficit with China was US$266.3 billion (2008) at the end of the Bush administration. It ballooned by 30.3 percent to US$347 billion during the Obama administration (2009-2016).
US Trade in Goods with China 2004-2016 prepared by Rosaliene Bacchus
Data Source: US Foreign Trade Statistics
On November 9, according to a press release from the US Department of Commerce, America’s trade delegation signed approximately a quarter trillion dollars (US$250 billion) in deals between private US businesses and Chinese entities. The deals signed included shale gas, liquefied natural gas, and aviation projects. Among American executives present at the signing ceremony were representatives from General Motors, GE, Boeing, Caterpillar, Dow Chemical, and Goldman Sachs.
Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross expects these deals to bring thousands of new jobs to America. “American businesses are the most innovative in the world, and, when given access, can compete with anyone,” he said. “I believe these deals can provide a solid foundation for a stronger relationship that is more free, fair, and reciprocal between the U.S. and China.”
Descriptions of each deal can be viewed HERE (pdf file). Some of these deals are only memoranda of understanding, making them non-binding agreements that may end up being just Christmas tree decorations. Time will tell which deals bear real fruit. For jobless Americans who are hurting, the sooner the better.
Three Worlds One Vision 
President Trump is very sincere. The past administration that made the agreements on trade with China did not care to notice the unfair unbalance and the Chinese took advantage. Who to blame?
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Based on his actions, to date, I question our president’s sincerity.
Who is to blame? All of us, voracious and gullible consumers who believe we could have more and more stuff for less.
Thanks for dropping by and commenting on my post 🙂
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Truth
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Truth – so powerful and dangerous that it must be hidden from us.
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Rosaliene,
Interesting post, but I don’t have enough background information to make sense of it. In the first place, I question what “trade deficit” means, in terms of individuals. It seems to be more important to nations than to individuals.
Also, what we are trading makes a difference to me. I’m happy to export polluting industry to other countries, if we must have polluting industry at all. And I’m happy to boycott (or buy as little as possible) of cheap plastic junk made by slave labor in China. The US seems to be exporting the good stuff, like raw materials, and importing junk. We are also exporting war toys, which can’t be a good thing.
I’d also like to know how these deals affect taxes and tariffs. Do the US-based companies with Chinese affiliates get tax breaks? I know the tariff structure has been a tool used in economic warfare, but the people who suffer most are those who ultimately buy the products. How do tariffs (protective or otherwise) benefit US consumers?
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Katharine, you’ve raised some excellent points and questions. The trade deficit is a complex issue that affects the value of the US dollar in relation to other currencies, stock prices, foreign investments, and inflation rates – all financial stuff that I struggle to comprehend.
Response to Paragraph One:
What affects our national economy affects all of us. A trade deficit means that we are importing more goods than we sell on the global marketplace. Cheap imported goods sold at Walmart and Target (to give two examples) force producers in the USA of similar products to lower their prices to compete and stay in business. From my experience in working in the retail industry, this means a reduction in staff, high staff turnover (newcomers earn less than old-timers), and a depressed minimum wage. For workers in the retail industry, the Target motto of “Expect More Pay Less” means expect more work for less pay.
Response to Paragraph Two:
Agree with you on all points except being happy “to export polluting industry to other countries.” Since all inhabitants of Earth share the same atmosphere and oceans, pollution affects us all regardless of its source.
Response to Paragraph Three:
I can’t answer your question about Chinese tax breaks, but I can say that it’s advantageous for US companies to outsource production to China. These benefits include: great reduction in operational costs, mass production with shorter delivery time, access to China’s market, and proximity to the immense Asian consumer market.
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Rosaliene,
Thanks for the detailed response. The comment about exporting polluting industry was tongue-in-cheek, because like you, I don’t like polluting industry at all, I just don’t know what to do about it.
Regarding paragraph three, I’m wondering how signing deals with large American companies in China helps create jobs in the US, I hope the Asians don’t get too enamored of consumerism. I’d like to believe Americans are wising up, too.
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Katherine, I imagine that the jobs created in the US would depend upon each deal. For example, Boeing signed a deal with the China Aviation Supplies Holding Company (CASC) to supply 300 aircraft valued at approximately $38 billion. This includes 260 Boeing 737’s and 40 widebodies (777’s). All American industries involved in supplying parts and services to Boeing would benefit from this deal. How many jobs would be added, I can’t say. The official release on the Boeing website did not mention job numbers.
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Rosaliene,
It’s a start to understanding the bigger picture. I’m assuming these parts manufacturers would be in the US? And then we have the issue of government war contractors supplying war toys to a potential future enemy. But am I being overly cynical?
Another unanswered question, which I expect would require loads of research, is how the US/Boeing relationship helps tax-and-tariff-wise.
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Katharine, our world has become so complex that we have to rely on the experts in each of the myriad fields to ensure that our systems work in the interests of us all. As you have discovered in your own field in mental health, abuse is rampant. To keep abreast of global trade issues that affect our lives, I look to the folks at Public Citizen [www.citizen.org/our-work/globalization-and-trade].
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Was this the same country that was “raping” the US but is now being praised for “taking advantage” of another? His message changes depending on who’s standing alongside him.
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The one and only, Denzil. Our Dealer-in-Chief is a master at changing lanes while in top speed.
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I can’t wait to get some of those Donald Trump “Christmas tree decorations for our tree. I’d do it immediately, but I don’t want to scare our grandson. 😉
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I wouldn’t want that either, Dr. Stein 😉
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A rare Trumpian gem: you can’t fault one dog for eating another dog, even when we are the dog, in this dog-eat-dog world. Hate to say it, but I think Trump applied a principle — unusual… and suspicious!
(Sorry about reference to stupid, but well-known expression. We know dogs do not eat other dogs… Trump made me do it!)
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No apologies needed, JoAnn. Trump is a master at scrambling our brain cells. Our long reign as “top dog” is now being challenged. New strategies for staying on top are in play. As you say, these are suspicious moves; they require scrutiny. Have you noticed the latest moves by Saudi Arabia following Trump’s visit? Coincidence?
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Yes. Talk of war between SA and Iran. Makes me sick.
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More jobs for those who work in the arms industry. If that’s the kind of jobs we want.
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Exactly!
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Trump’s hyped-up attack on Iran nuclear deal and his arms deals with SA go together like a horse and carriage. Now there’s talk of war between SA and Iran.
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Sad seeing the lows
the US has dropped to, Rosaliene!
More than a glimpse of total
rule by the corporatetacracy 😦
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Sad, indeed, David. The multinational and transnational corporations never lose. They are able to produce their goods and services wherever they can make the greatest profits. Then, as the latest disclosures of the Paradise Papers reveal, they hide their wealth and profits in offshore tax havens.
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But in doing so, are they not impoverishing the very people their Mickey Mouse capitalism depends entirely upon: their consumers? It can be said then that they are quite advanced already in eating their own tail. China will have a whirlwind romance with consumerism as it takes shares from the US but inevitably they’re all going to fail spectacularly. Of course a lot of people will suffer and die directly or indirectly in the capitalistic implosion, but that is called karma. Cause and effect. And choice. The choice has always been there, whether to support an inequitable, unjust economic system, or turn against it.
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So true, Sha’Tara. The inability of the “Mickey Mouse” capitalist elites to perceive their folly continues to stump me. When the parasite kills its host, it, too, will die. I guess our constantly growing numbers (currently over 7 billion!) drive their insatiable hunger. The karmic implosion will be catastrophic.
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There’s enough blame to go around for just about everyone: greedy and powerful corporations, laissez-faire capitalism, neoliberalism, opportunistic governments, corrupt politicians, mindless consumers, and apathetic citizens.
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You’ve said it all, Robert. Couldn’t agree with you more. We the people forget the vital role we play in believing the dreams up for sale.
Earlier this month, people lined up for days in major cities worldwide to buy Apple’s latest iPhone X. At AT&T here in the USA, it costs $999.99 or $33.34/month!
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It’s a shame Millennials can’t see what’s going on here. They’re being enslaved and don’t even know it.
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So true, Robert. It disturbs me. My nephew has a three-year-old son who is already addicted to the images on his father’s iPhone.
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Consumerism exposed. From the never quite sublime, definitely to the ridiculous. What does that demonstrate but a society that has completely lost any raison d’etre, doomed to gobble up more of the earth’s resources and spewing out more garbage. When the mind is filled with garbage, the body will produce same in its own reality.
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Reblogged this on Guyanese Online.
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Thanks for sharing, Cyril. Have a sunshine week 🙂
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Pingback: Trump: China not to blame for US trade deficit – By Rosaliene Bacchus
Thanks for the re-blog, GuyFrog. Always much appreciated 🙂
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I agree Rosaliene. We’re all to blame here. The consumers who practice willful ignorance so that they can buy (sometimes) unnecessary goods for $.97 or a flat screen for $200. I find it unbelievable how shortsighted we (Americans) sometimes are.
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Kathy, we all drank the Kool-Aid, as the saying goes. Thanks for dropping by 🙂
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Ultimately it is about the wrong-headedness of unsustainable consumerism. I doubt the president’s sincerity too – his actions so far do not generate confidence in his policies or his beliefs. The world will be a worse place when this president has finished than it was at the beginning.
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Mary, as you’ve noted in many of your real life stories, we sometimes have to sink to the bottom before we can realize the folly of our ways.
Thanks for dropping by and sharing your viewpoint 🙂
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I find it really interesting the Trump seems to be following a dual script on most foreign policy issues – there seems to be a totally separate script for his Wall Street funders and the people who voted for him.
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Sadly, Dr. Bramhall, the people who voted for him continue to believe that he cares about their interests.
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During one (or more) of his campaign speeches He said similar things about those who will take advantage of the US. They have a country to run and so do we and if they are able to take advantage of us, good for them. He however, insisted that he will negotiate for us and make trade deals that are fair.
It does seem like some of that might be happening.
If he can do it, I’m all for it.
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Thanks for dropping by and sharing your thoughts on this issue. Trade deals can only be fair when there is compromise on contentious issues. Compromise doesn’t appear to be a characteristic of our Dealer-in-Chief.
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Tru dat!
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