Our "trade deficit" with Canada explained

[Sibelius Fan]

There are 42-million Canadians who can purchase American goods.

There are 330-million American who can purchase Canadian goods.

Trade deficit explained.

[Wounded Bear]

1. That's a big part of it...nt

[Sibelius Fan]

2. Unless every Canadian commits to buying 8 of everything - cars, appliances etc - America has to offer

there is no way the trade deficit will zero out.

[anciano]

3. There is a negative connotation usually applied

to the term "trade deficit". It is not inherently a bad thing, it doesn't need to balance out. For example, I have a trade deficit with the local supermarket, but that doesn't mean I should quit buying food.

[canetoad]

4. Exactly

It's not a debt.

[Jarqui]

5. Trump says US has everything it needs

If US stopped buying Canadian energy, US would have a trade surplus on goods with Canada like it does with services. Canada is one of the biggest consumers of US goods.

If Trump wanted to correct the trade deficit with Canada, all he had to do was to stop purchasing energy from Canada that Trump says the US does not need.

Simple.

But like Trump's bogus complaint about fentanyl crossing from the Canadian border, it is not really about a trade deficit.