Our Sites

Another trade milestone

I received a press release recently about the U.S."s trade deficit relative to China. It announced that during the George W. Bush years the total merchandise deficit has exceeded $1 trillion.

Now that"s a stunning statistic. Not to sidestep this bit of data or downplay the importance of it, but it also is a stunning way to politicize the issue. Neither party, Democrat or Republican, can make any serious claim in holding the line in trade with regard to China:

  • It was a Republican, Richard Nixon, who opened diplomatic ties with China when he became the first U.S. president to visit the nation in 1972.

  • Full diplomatic relations were hammered out in 1978, during the Carter administration.

  • The Tiananmen Square massacre, which occurred during a Republican"s stint in the White House, did little to dent diplomatic and trade ties with China. George H.W. Bush continued to keep up communications with senior Chinese leaders.

  • It was a Democrat, Bill Clinton, who permanently granted to China normal trade relations status (formerly known as most favored nation status) in 2000.


  • But that"s just politics, and the political path usually leads to a ridiculous dead end. So let"s get back to the trade numbers.
    It is true that since 2001 the dollar value of imports from China has totaled $1,281,171,338,732, and exports totaled $221,346,512,084, for a deficit of $1,059,824,826,648. On the surface, it might seem that because the trade deficit is so high, our imports from China must be growing and our exports to China must be shrinking, and the next logical thought is, We"ll never reverse these two trends; we"re fighting a losing battle; there is nothing we can do.

    But let"s look a little closer. In 2001 our goods trade with China was $102,069,326,282 in imports and $17,959,041,258 in exports. In 2006 we imported $287,052,416,194 worth of goods and exported $51,624,064,793. Yes, the growth of imports is extreme (some would say it"s obscene), but look at the dollar value of our exports to China. It grew too. In fact, on a percentage basis, exports to China actually grew faster than our imports from China (181 percent growth in imports versus 187 percent growth in exports).

    This is a completely different scenario. Granted, our export level lags our import level in a huge way, but the trend since 2001 actually has been in our favor. What can we, U.S. consumers, do to keep it going in our favor? For starters, look for Made in the USA on the label of products you buy. It seems like consumer products manufactured domestically are endangered species, but you know of plenty of them and so do I:
  • Looking for a bicycle? Trek Bicycle Corp. manufactures bicycles in Waterloo, Wis. and Whitewater, Wis.

  • Need a pair of dress shoes? Allen-Edmonds manufactures men"s dress shoes in Port Washington, Wis. OK, I realize this is starting to read like a Made in Wisconsin column rather than a Made in the USA column, but I swear it"s just a coincidence that the first two are Wisconsin manufacturers.

  • How about a motorcycle? Since 1903 Harley-Davidson has put together motorbikes known as Milwaukee Iron. Three cheers for Wisconsin!

  • Looking for power tools? I am sure you know where this is going. Milwaukee Electric Tool Corp. manufactures most of its power tools in the U.S. It has three plants in Mississippi (in Greenwood, Jackson, and Kosciusko) and one in Blytheville, Ark.

  • Did you think that every toy, luggage item, and clothing article in the world (other than Allen-Edmonds shoes) was made in Asia? Think again. We still make quite a few of these products in the U.S..


  • We won't get to trade parity with China any time soon, and we may never get there, but each of us can do our part by buying American. Just do some research ahead of time or look for the Made in the USA label when you are shopping.