Trump Is at Best Misleading and at Worst Lying About America’s Trade Deficit With Canada

Trump Is Ignorant of Facts and Trying to Run America Like It’s 1950

President Trump has been pushing trade deficits and tariffs as a means to change the national conversation away from the Russia investigation and the increasing implosion of his White House, but his latest tweet on the topic is too stupid to ignore.

“We have large trade deficits with Mexico and Canada,” Trump claimed Monday morning.

That’s false. 

Either he didn’t bother to look it up, or ask, because he’s simply too dumb to do so, or he knew it was false and bet no one would call him on it.

Like most Americans, I’m no economist but I know how to Google something.

“The U.S. goods and services trade surplus with Canada was $12.5 billion in 2016.”

Surplus. Not deficit.

That quote comes from the U.S. government’s own Office of the United States Trade Representative website, which is part of the Executive Office of the President. 

If you want to get really technical, the U.S. has a goods trade deficit with Canada but our services surplus is double the deficit, giving us an overall surplus.

With Mexico, we do have an overall goods and services trade deficit, but we also have a services trade surplus.

It’s important to note as well that Trump’s idea there must be parity in trade – the same dollar amount of imports and exports between two countries – is ludicrous. America is the largest economy on earth. And Americans like cheap products. We also don’t make as much stuff as we used to. Which is why the services numbers are so important – except to Trump.

Trump is ignorant of facts and trying to run America like it’s 1950.

It’s not.

Image by The White House via Flickr