Bilateral trade imbalances are typically structural — arising from the nature of each countries’ economies — not the result of unfair trade practices, she observed. The U.S. has a large trade deficit with Germany and a trade surplus with the Netherlands, she noted, even though they have identical trade practices. But “Germany makes a lot of goods Americans want, like cars and machinery, while Americans make a lot of goods the Netherlands wants, like medical equipment and pharmaceuticals.”

Source: Los Angeles Times March 04, 2019 20:37 UTC