U.S. Trade Deficit Increases ... Again!!

I just found this story posted on the News section of Yahoo!.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100413/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/us_economy

Apparently, the federal trade deficit has continued to increase and grew by $39.7 billion in the month of February alone. For those of you that do not know what a trade deficit or surplus means, here goes. The U.S. economy sends out exports and receives foreign-made imports for sale. A trade deficit means that the U.S. is bringing in more imports than it is shipping out exports.

Some economists in the field believe that the current trade deficit has increased because the U.S. economy is finally starting to break out of the recession (yeah right!). In other words, Americans are able to purchase more, while the value of American products internationally has remained the same.

If you want to know the truth, the problem is that China is tired of being pressured by the U.S. government to adjust is currency to account for the dollar. The U.S. dollar holds very little weight in the international economy and China knows it. The U.S. has been working hard for almost a full year now to force China to change its currency amounts to allow the U.S. dollar to compete. President Obama even tried discussing it with Hu Jintao (the Chinese President) over last week's Nuclear security summit.

Enough is enough! Quit trying to pressure China! They aren't going to bend to negotiations, threats or any other political antics. We need China more than they need us right now. We have a struggling economy that is showing small signs of life for the first time in years and our military continues to be overstretched in the Middle East. The U.S. has very little value in the international marketplace for economic powerhouses like China. Every time the U.S. faces international struggles, we flex our proverbial muscles. The days of these intimidation tactics having any effect are over. We aren't the biggest kid on the block. Find another way to work with China or find another way to reduce the trade deficit. Just as companies need to find other ways to compete, the U.S. exports must find alternative ways to compete in a global arena.

Isn't economics fun??

- Mr. Opinionated