The Office of the US Trade Representative was still pushing “two way trade” as a measure of success in April. They do not look at net exports or the balance of trade in success measures. It’s really horrendous to have your country’s trade ministry so misguided as to not care about net trade.
Wendy Cutler
So, a representative of the USTR, Wendy Cutler, spoke in April at the Woodrow Wilson Center about the Korea trade agreement. Instead of expressing worry that our trade balance with South Korea has substantially worsened in the last year, she praised the amount of “two way trade.”
Last year, the U.S. and Korea shared $101 billion in total two way goods trade.
I will die with a smile on my face if the clause “two way trade” and “more [gross] exports” are halted in the federal government in favor of net exports or balanced trade.
Thatt “two-way trade” measure is ridiculous and
stupid. America’s USTR contnues to work more for
the WTO than for our own country. Thanks much for
speaking out Mike.
Ken Davis, Former U.s. Ass’t Secretary of Commerce
Ken:
It’s not so much the WTO that’s at fault. The US has since the 1980s put trade policy at the service of special interests who in turn fund our ever more demanding political system with cash. Trade policy has become another source of corporate welfare and a significant source of political corruption. Other nations have a clearer sense of national purpose when it comes to international economics; we gave that up with the end of the Cold War. Blame ourselves for that.
Here is their silly “total trade” stats for top 15 US trade partners:
http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/statistics/highlights/topcurmon.html
Here are the dismal facts regarding our negative trade balance with Korea:
http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c5800.html#2011