We see the dotard saying that since we have in many cases a negative balance sheet when we trade, stopping trade would be to our advantage.
Of course it would lead to a tremendous economic downturn and much higher prices accompanied with shortages of things we want.
We don't trade with someone for no reason at all. We do it because it makes economic sense.
Take a commodity like steel. Cheaper steel leads to cheaper products that use steel.
Supply and demand tells us that if the cost of supply goes down, demand increases. This after all is a Republican tenet, encapsulated in the tax bill.
If you stop trading prices go up. Less economic activity will result so it will lead to less jobs.
The way to change trade deficits, if that is even a goal, is to produce your product cheaper.
With the expansion of cheap natural gas and less dependence on foreign oil we see that what was once a huge trade deficit in energy has pretty much reversed itself.
Of course, where the main component of cost is labor we could only compete by reducing labor costs.
One might argue that immigration is a good way to do that.
It might make sense to have a logical economic policy that we followed instead of trying to fulfill empty slogans.
Guess we are going to do the latter instead.
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