Trade Gap Hits Record $43.1 Billion in January

[ze_dscherman]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. trade deficit widened to a record $43.1 billion in January, as rising oil prices helped keep imports near historic highs and exports retreated slightly despite the weaker dollar, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday.

The monthly trade gap was larger than the mid-point analyst estimate of $42.1 billion. Average prices for imported oil leapt to $28.55 per barrel in January, the highest since March 2003.

Imports dipped slightly from the record set in December, but were still the second highest ever at $132.1 billion. Imports from China posted a 6.6 percent gain, pushing the monthly trade gap with that country to $11.5 billion.

SNIP

U.S. exports slipped slightly to $89.0 billion in January. Although the euro has borne the brunt of the weaker dollar, exports to the 15-member European Union edged lower during the month. Shipments to other major destinations such as Canada, Mexico, Japan and China also were lower.

http://news.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=businessNews&storyID=4537340

[brokensymmetry]

1. Not to worry!

Our pResident tells us that offshoring is going to make us all rich! So the more we go in debt, and the less we produce here, the better off we are! Yippee! :crazy:

[salin]

2. I believe that he or one of the admin voices

made a mistatement a month or so ago - refering to outsourced jobs as exports as if suggesting that they can be counted as lowering the trade deficit.

So silly a gaffe, it was never repeated beyond the one time.

[UpInArms]

3. it was Gregory Mankiw

and here's a link

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/GMA/WorldNewsTonight/outsourcing_firestorm_040213-1.html

Such news comes on the heels of the political firestorm set off earlier this week by President Bush's chief economic adviser, Greg Mankiw, who said "outsourcing" — sending white-collar service jobs abroad where labor is cheaper — was a good thing.

"It's something that we should realize is probably a plus for the economy in the long run," said Mankiw chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers. Outsourcing, Mankiw said, was part of a larger picture that would eventually be good for the American economy, "just a new way of doing international trade."

Though Mankiw's comments are somewhat less controversial in the world of economists, they became nearly radioactive in the world of politics, where perceived insensitivity to American job loss is seldom seen as shrewd.

[Beetwasher]

4. Bush Is Going On The Offensive on Jobs and Trade

Really, I'm not making that up and it wasn't in the Onion either. It's true!

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/news/news-campaign-bush.html

[reprobate]

5. Bush IS offensive on jobs and trade

[54anickel]

6. Today may not be the best day for him to start that line. He certainly

won't be able to quote any recent economic reports to back up that claim.

Oh wait, this is faith-based economics.

``Their agenda is to increase federal taxes, build a wall around our economy and isolate America from the rest of the world. That old policy of tax and spend is the enemy of job creation. The old policy of economic isolationism is a recipe for economic disaster,'' Bush will say.

``America has moved beyond that tired defeatist mind-set and we're not going back,'' he will say, according to speech excerpts given out by a senior White House official.

snip>
"And we will remain the leading economy in the world because America will remain the best placed to do business in the world,'' he will say.


Notice he's added the word FAIR to the free trade rhetoric as well.

Bush will forcefully advocate what the White House called his ``pro-growth and free and fair trade agenda''

:eyes:

[UpInArms]

7. I wonder what the

stickers on the boxes will say this time?

Importing debt-laden products from (fill in the blank) or

Jobs exported to (fill in the blank) -

just balancing that trade deficit rhetoric :evilgrin:

[mobuto]

8. This makes no sense

I don't deny the figures, but what this means is that the Bush Administration has screwed us over royally. Because even though the dollar has fallen dramatically, our trade deficit is still rising. So the weak dollar has done nothing for us. And exports are falling? Wow.

[UpInArms]

9. faith based economics

do not work.

The current policies are RayGun's policies on steroids.