Trade Deficit Confusion Is Bipartisan

President Trump and his trade advisers are the most vocal in putting forward misguided views on the trade deficit, but, unfortunately, their position is a bipartisan one. Here ’s something Congressman Brad Sherman of Californiasaid recently:But Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA), ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Asia and the Pacific subcommittee, told  Inside U.S. Trade he would be “surprised if any [bilateral] deal is finalized in the next 12 months.” Sherman met with Gerrish late last week, he said.“Look, we spent 50 years telling the world that the only moral and correct thing to do was to have the United States run an enormous trade deficit with the entire world,” he said. “Of course, they decided to agree. Getting them to change their minds is not something that we are doing all that effectively and it’s certainly not something that is easy.”Asked if he was confident a bilateral deal would be initiated in the near future, Sherman said “no, definitely not.”Gerrish, he said, “was getting my input, but my input is certainly if you are dealing with a managed economy there has to be stated goals for how large the trade deficit will be or whether it will be balanced trade,” he said. “And it’s good to have people focused on the trade deficit; whether they are going a bout it the right way is perhaps another story. But ignoring it is a short-term strategy.”Asked which countries might be top contenders for a bilateral, Sherman said none, adding th...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs