Wow, this was just reported on MSNBC.

[shockey80]

The trade deficit, which Trump says is a big problem, may not be such a big problem because of the way they add up the deficit. They only count where the final product comes from. They don't count where all the parts come from around the world, including here.

For example, when Japan sends cars here they count that towards the deficit. They do not count all the parts for those cars that America sells to Japan. There are a lot of auto supply companies in America that sell parts around the world.

Do you think Trump knows this? Lol. If you attack the trade deficit you have to know what the hell you are doing or you could get a lot of people laid off. In time Trump will trash the economy. I have no doubt.

The way they add up the trade deficit is kind of like how they add up the inflation numbers. They don't count things like food in the inflation numbers. The numbers don't tell the whole story.

[Guilded Lilly]

1. What else but economic destruction can you get from a piss poor, lying...

Narcissistic sociopath egomaniac who has multiple bankruptcies and countless lawsuits and squelches on his contracts and deals and wouldn’t know the truth if it grabbed him by the...

[zipplewrath]

2. Not sure this is true

The trade deficit is the balance between what is shipped here, versus what is shipped FROM here. Car parts shipped FROM here are going to be considered "finished product" despite that they ultimately go into something else.

I suspect what was being referenced is that on the retail level, the definition of "made in..." is more a function of where something is assembled, rather than where the majority of the content originated. As such, if you look at a particular product or product line and try to measure it in isolation, you may overlook that much of the value of that originated somewhere else.

[tanyev]

3. Doesn't matter. He's using it for his own personal extortion racket, and that's all he cares about.