Japan's first trade deficit since 1980 raises debt doubts

DA60 · Jan 26, 2012

'Japan's first annual trade deficit in more than 30 years calls into question how much longer the country can rely on exports to help finance a huge public debt without having to turn to fickle foreign investors.'

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/25/us-japan-economy-idUSTRE80O01120120125

Rollo1066 · Jan 27, 2012

One deficit in 30 years doesn't seem too bad to me.

DA60 · Jan 27, 2012

Rollo1066 said: ↑

One deficit in 30 years doesn't seem too bad to me.
Click to expand...

If your debt to GDP ratio is the second worst in the entire world, your stock market has been dead for decades, your population is aging fast and you depend on exports for your economic health...it's potentially very bad (imo).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikkei_225

https://www.cia.gov/library/publica...Japan&countryCode=ja&regionCode=eas&rank=2#ja

bacardi · Jan 28, 2012

DA60 said: ↑

'Japan's first annual trade deficit in more than 30 years calls into question how much longer the country can rely on exports to help finance a huge public debt without having to turn to fickle foreign investors.'

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/25/us-japan-economy-idUSTRE80O01120120125
Click to expand...

just wait until the japanese citizens start cashing in their japanese debt....then the party really begins

Anders Hoveland · Mar 2, 2013

Sustained trade deficits are not good:

[video=youtube;bGo_NL-eclw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGo_NL-eclw[/video]

Toro · Mar 2, 2013

Japan is in serious trouble.

The country has been running massive deficits for many years. It is so bad that in 2011, all income tax revenues were used to pay for social security and interest payments on the debt, and that's it. All other spending had to be financed either through borrowing or asset sales.

That wasn't a problem when Japan had a high savings rate but they don't anymore. The deficits were financed through domestic savings but the savings rate for Japanese households has fallen from 20% a few decades ago to ~2% today. So in recent years, the deficit has been financed more so through corporate savings, of which a healthy chunk has come from abroad. But with Japan starting to record trade deficits, this source of financing is being diminished.

waltky · Feb 8, 2017

Granny says, "Dat's right - The Donald gonna fix dat...

USA Has Run Annual Trade Deficits for 41 Straight Years
February 7, 2017 | With the United States running trade deficits in both goods and services combined and goods alone in 2016, the nation has not seen a trade surplus in any of the last 41 years, according to data published by the Census Bureau.

The last time the United States ran a trade surplus was 1975--when Gerald Ford was president. The Census Bureau has published historical data on annual U.S. trade balances going back to 1960. In 13 of the 16 years from 1960 through 1975, the U.S. ran goods-and-services trade surpluses and surpluses in the trade of goods (merchandise) alone. But in each of the 41 years after 1975, according to data released by the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the U.S. has run both a merchandise trade deficit and a goods and services deficit.

In 1974, as measured by the Census Bureau, the U.S. ran a merchandise trade surplus of $3,884,000,000. Then in 1975, the nation ran an $9,551,000,000 merchandise trade surplus. In 1976, however, the merchandise trade balance went back into the red—with a deficit of $$7,820,000,000. Every year since then, the U.S. has run a merchandise trade deficit. When the Bureau of Economic Analysis adds the U.S. trade balance in services to its calculation of the trade balance in goods, the U.S. still has 41 straight years of goods-and-services trade deficits.

In 1974, according to BEA, the U.S. had a goods-and-services trade deficit of $4,293,000,000. In 1975, the U.S. ran a goods-and-services trade surplus of $12,404,000,000. In 1976, however, the goods-and-services trade balance went back into the red—with a deficit of $6,082,000,000. Every year since then, the U.S. has run a goods-and-services trade deficit. The U.S. trade deficit in goods and services peaked at $714,245,000,000 in 2005, according to the BEA. In 2016, it was $502,252,000,000. The U.S. trade in goods (merchandise) trade deficit peaked at $827,971,000,000 in 2006, according to the Census Bureau. In 2016, it was $734,316,000,000.

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article...s-run-annual-trade-deficits-41-straight-years
Click to expand...

See also:

2016 U.S. Merchandise Trade Deficit: $734,316,300,000
February 7, 2017 | The United States ran a merchandise trade deficit of $734,316,300,000 in 2016, according to data released today by the Census Bureau.

During 2016, the U.S. imported $2,188,940,500,000 in goods but exported only $1,454,624,200,000. The People’s Republic of China was the greatest contributor to the U.S. merchandise trade deficit for the year. The U.S bilateral merchandise trade deficit with China was $347,037,900,000. This deficit resulted from the U.S. importing $462,813,000,000 in goods from China while exporting only $115,775,100,00 in goods to China.

Japan was the second largest contributor to the U.S. merchandise trade deficit in 2016. The U.S. imported $132,201,800,000 in goods from Japan while exporting only $63,264,300,000—resulting in a deficit of $68,937,600,000. German was the third largest contributor to the U.S. merchandise trade deficit. The U.S. imported $114,227,400,000 from Germany while exporting $49,362,000,000—resulting in a deficit of $64,865,400,000.

Mexico was the fourth largest contributor to the U.S. merchandise trade deficit. The U.S. imported $294,151,000,000 from Mexico while exporting $230,959,100,000—resulting in a deficit of $63,191,900,000. Ireland was the fifth largest contributor to the U.S. merchandise trade deficit. The U.S. imported $45,503,900,000 from Ireland while exporting $9,555,700,000 to Ireland—resulting in a deficit of $35,948,200,000.

The 2016 merchandise trade deficit of $734,316,300,000 was slightly less than the $745,660,200,000 merchandise trade deficit that the United States ran in 2015 or the $735,193,900,000 merchandise trade deficit it ran in 2014. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the U.S. ran a combined goods and services trade deficit of $502,300,000,000 in 2016. “Exports of services decreased $1.3 billion to $749.6 billion in 2016,” said BEA. “Imports of services increased $13.1 billion to $501.8 billion in 2016,” said BEA.

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/terence-p-jeffrey/2016-us-merchandise-trade-deficit-734316300000
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Econ4Every1 · Feb 9, 2017

Anders Hoveland said: ↑

Sustained trade deficits are not good:

[video=youtube;bGo_NL-eclw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGo_NL-eclw[/video]
Click to expand...

Responding to WB's claim in the video.....I have a question if anyone would like to defend WB's claims in the vid.

If "Squanderville" operates like the US, how can it ever run out of dollars? The dollars aren't pegged to anything. If this video has any meaning at all, it's analogous to the US, so "Squanderville" isn't trading land for goods, its trading dollars. All "Squanderville" owes "Thiftsville" are dollars. In the meantime, "Thriftsville" is using up its own natural resources to create goods and services to send to "Squanderville". If it's like modern day China it's also sacrificing its environment and the health of most of it's citizens to keep costs low. Seems to me "Thriftsville" has put itself in a terrible situation. It's growth and employment are dependent on "Squanderville" consuming its goods and services. If "Thriftsville" is anything like modern China, it's driven down the value of it's own dollar to ensure it can undercut labor from other parts of the world. As a result, "Thriftsville's" own citizens are paid so little (in order to drive labor costs down) they can't afford the very products they make.

So I'm sorry, "Thriftsville" sounds more like "Slavesville" to me.

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