Biggest exports drop in three years, record imports reported
Updated: 11:44 a.m. ET Aug. 13, 2004WASHINGTON - The U.S. trade deficit widened much more than expected in June, hitting a record $55.8 billion as the biggest drop in exports in nearly three years combined with record imports, the government said on Friday.
Wall Street economists had expected the deficit to widen, but looked for a gap of just $47 billion. In its report, the Commerce Department also revised May"™s trade shortfall to $46.9 billion from the previously reported $46.0 billion.
The department said exports fell 4.3 percent to $92.8 billion in June, the biggest decline since September 2001 and the weakest performance since February.
At the same time, imports climbed 3.3 percent to an all-time high of $148.6 billion, partly reflecting a run-up in oil prices.
Crude oil prices hit $33.76 a barrel, according to the department"™s measure, the highest price since March 1982. The quantity of crude imported also rose to a record level.
While other recent data had led economists to expect an upward revision to the government"™s measure of second-quarter economic growth, the trade data was likely to lead them to lower their sights.
In its first snapshot of the second quarter, the government said U.S. gross domestic product advanced at a 3 percent annual rate, a sharp slowdown from the swift 4.5 percent pace at the start of the year.
Corporate America and its false patriotism.............isn't it great?[&o]
Corporate America and its false patriotism.............isn't it great?
Don't blame Corporate America, stop buying the imported junk.
Companies are in business to make a profit, just like Americans that buy the cheaper stuff so they will have more left at the end of the month, We that buy the imported stuff are no better than the companies that make it elsewhere, quit buying it, buy American made or do without, thats one way to combat the problem.
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Oh my gosh!!! we're all going to lose our jobs and starve to death for sure. An all time high of 148.6 Billion with a B dollars in trade defecit!!! Let's see though, the GDP of the US is $9,792.5 Billion with a B dollars last time I looked. That means that that awful trade defecit represents .01% of the GDP of the US or in other words not a heck of a lot. And just why is there a trade defecit in the first place? Couldn't have anything to do with the unions could it? More pay for less work, yeah, that's the way to go!! Put some import tariffs on all of that imported junk and drive the price of that Malaysian stuff out of sight, that will teach them!! Disregard the probability that they will then in turn slap import duties on everything made in America and brought into their countries. That ought to fix things real good huh??
We, a nation of 300 million, have a potential market around the world of 6 billion customers do we pi$$ them off or work smarter and try to get a bunch of their yen and yuan and shekels and rubles and pounds and rupees coming into our own banks and pockets? Left to the liberals it would be a no brainer, tax the crap out of imports and the end result be damned.
A certain trade deficit is natural. America is one of the richest nations in the world. Of course we'll buy more than "they" do.
More importantly, while on the surface, the logic of reigning in "corporate America" sounds so logical and appealing, it is both unAmerican and unconstitutional to do so. If I own a business, do I own it, or does public opinion own it? Why should anyone be able to tell me to whom and from whom I can buy and sell? Or which people I can hire or not hire, aside from discrimination on the basis of race, creed, or color?
If you follow this twisted logic to its conclusion, we should dictate that local people can only buy from storekeepers in their own town, county, state of residence, etc.
I live in Ohio, so can I buy only Ohio made goods and services? If you say yes, then explain how I am to acquire goods and services that are NOT made in Ohio, or raw materials and resources that are not found in Ohio.
Trade with faraway places in ancient, proven, and logical. Get used to it, because it ain't going away anytime soon.
Kudos VC, kudos. Another eloquent argument. What's really sad is that so many of our pols, unions, etc. use items like this to scare people into voting a certain way.
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Thanks, Cal. Hating corporate America and hating America is quite trendy among younger people and the hard left. Please note that I do not consider Cougar among the hard left.
If you have a problem with the trade deficit - its called Walmart - look into it.
Even the stuff they sell labeled "Made inthe USA" isn't.
Its simply snapped together or a few modifactions made to the item once it gets here and under current laws, that allows Walmart to sell it as an American made good.
Less than three months after Congress granted President George W. Bush authority to negotiate new trade agreements, the line-up of countries eager for deals with the US has stretched to record length.
Talks with Chile and Singapore are set to conclude by the end of the year. The US will begin negotiations shortly with Morocco, five Central American countries and the five members of the Southern African Customs Union.
But the list hardly stops there. Australia is pushing for a free-trade pact with the US. At last weekend's Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (Apec) summit, the US said it was ready to pursue deals in south-east Asia, putting Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines at the top of the list. In addition, Robert Zoellick, the US trade representative, said this week that half a dozen other Latin American countries had also approached the US. "There's no shortage of customers out there," says Mr Zoellick. "We would like to move forward with negotiations and we'll move forward one way or another."
New York tech component maker Corning expects to sell 10% to 15% fewer fiber optics this quarter than the previous one "” and it blames Beijing.
The Chinese government tacked a 16% tariff on many of Corning's products in June, after two Chinese competitors accused it of dumping: selling products below market value to gain share. Several other non-Chinese companies were taxed too, at rates as high as 46%.
Corning denies dumping and is working with Chinese officials to get the tax overturned. But the decline in Chinese sales has already been so steep it is expected to offset gains in both North America and Europe.
Corning's case illustrates China's growing influence in the international tech industry. Once just a manufacturing center, China has become the place to develop and sell high-tech goods. It's the industry's greatest hope for growth this decade. But the still-developing country, with a government often hostile to the West, is also a great obstacle.
"It's not always easy to do business there," says Douglas McIntyre, CEO of U.S. software maker On2 Technologies, now in a dispute with a Chinese agency. "There are a number of things that come up as a surprise. And the interesting thing is, they always involve the government."
Until recently, China was a minor tech player. The country's communist government made it tough for many non-Chinese companies to open shop there. Those that did largely built factories to take advantage of China's cheap labor.
Then, in the 1990s, Chinese officials became more receptive to foreign investment. Companies such as Oracle, Intel, Motorola and Microsoft opened or expanded offices. Finally, in 2001, China announced its willingness to do business with the world by joining the World Trade Organization.
Our goverment sets up deals for our own corporations to move factories out of the USA and basically take advantage of slave labor.Then these same corporations import the goods helping to create a trade defiect.
Move a factory to China. No overtime,workmens cmp,Social security,unemployment insurance, Health insurance etc etc.
The last time I was in the Domincan Republic there were many new factories built, making clothing. I read an article that stated a civil employee made a bout $400 American a month so a factory worker proably got about $250 a month American.It's not companies from China or the Domincan Republic or any other develping nation pushing up the trade defict. It's companies like IBM and other fortune 500 companies taking advantage of programs funded with tax payers money taking jobs out of the USA. We are doing it to ourselfs.
BUY AMERICAN?? Give it another 20 years annd you won't be able to find anything made in America to buy.
Strut, You say don't blame corporate America,right. Maybe your right we shouldn't we should blame our goverment that sets up trade agreements that benefit foreign workers and their country's. Most of these agreements have bi-partisan support.
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New report.....record trade deficit.
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