Exciting Trade Deficit News

[babylonsister]

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2009/10/exciting-trade-deficit-news

Exciting Trade Deficit News
— By Kevin Drum | Fri October 9, 2009 8:26 AM PST


This is genuinely good news:

The U.S. trade deficit unexpectedly narrowed for the first time in four months in August, with exports rising to their highest level of the year and imports easing despite higher oil prices.

....The decline, the first since May, was a surprise on Wall Street. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had expected a further widening in the deficit to $33.6 billion.

The recent resurgence of oil prices had been pushing the trade deficit back up, after a brief dip earlier in the year when the recession sapped demand for imports. However, exports have enjoyed a five-month uptrend, which bodes well for the economic outlook.

As with a lot of other hopeful indicators, there's no telling if this one will last. But it's essential that it does. Despite what Sarah Palin may think, the U.S. desperately needs a weaker dollar, lower consumption, and an end to the permanent current account deficit. This news probably won't get a lot of attention, but it should.

[AllentownJake]

1. My one problem with the weaker dollar theory

When and/if oil consumption returns to normal levels....it isn't going to be cheap. Now seeing that oil is required to run our entire economy at this point in time, it could stifle any long term recovery.

In the long run it will get us off foreign oil, in the long run though, we are all dead.

[TxRider]

2. Yup and we are still the #1 manufacturing country, barely

A weak dollar has it's benefits.

[FreakinDJ]

7. Placing Chinese circuit boards in a box is NOT manufacturing

When will the Rush LimpDick Economist get it through their thick fucking head

R&D is not the same as production

[redqueen]

8. Yeah

so it's not good news at all then right?

[FreakinDJ]

9. They changed the regulations of what qualifies as "Made in USA"

The consumer perception evidence available to the Commission indicates that the country in which a product is put together or completed is highly significant to consumers in evaluating where the product is "made." Thus, regardless of the extent of a product's other U.S. parts or processing, in order to be considered all or virtually all made in the United States, it is a prerequisite that the product have been last "substantially transformed" in the United States, as that term is used by the U.S. Customs Service -- i.e.,
http://www3.ftc.gov/os/1997/12/epsmadeusa.htm

So some monkey placing circuit boards in a box DOES QUALIFY as Made in USA

[Warpy]

3. The weak dollar would have us in the black

if greedy corporate bosses hadn't shipped so much industry offshore.

[whoneedstickets]

4. In other news, American's accept lower standard of living...

This is going to hurt for a while.

[TexasObserver]

5. Thank you! This is one reason the declining dollar can help us.

Our massive debt gets repaid with cheaper dollars.

We get some inflation to help everyone who is below water on real estate loans can get back above water.

Cheaper dollar and a 2-3 years of inflation could help a lot of problems.

[FreakinDJ]

6. Trade Deficit is the problem - who needs more

Shit we need to lower the trade deficit rather then cheerleading it's rise

[babylonsister]

10. So now manufacturing and exporting is bad? Why? nt