But the claim that trade surpluses often reflect weakness, while trade deficits reflect strength, is a very hard sell. Advertisement Continue reading the main storySo let’s look at the metros with the biggest goods trade deficits and surpluses. So to sum things up: within the United States we have large regional trade imbalances that don’t reflect “unfair” trade policies, because interstate trade is totally free. And running trade surpluses isn’t a sign of success, nor is running deficits a sign of failure. If anything, much of the time it’s the reverse: fast-growing regions run deficits, stagnating regions run surpluses.

Source: New York Times March 24, 2018 16:07 UTC