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cover of episode Mind the Trade Gap

Mind the Trade Gap

2025/6/3
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Why It Matters
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People
B
Brad Setser
专注于全球化、贸易和税收政策的经济学家和政策分析师。
H
Heather Hurlburt
Topics
Brad Setser: 大家好，我是布拉德·塞策。我认为贸易逆差本身并非全然是负面的。对于一个经济快速增长、积极投资并对未来收入充满信心的国家来说，适度的贸易逆差实际上是合理的。通过进口储蓄，我们可以支持更多的投资活动，从而促进经济的进一步发展。当然，如果贸易逆差与高消费或过度的公共支出联系在一起，风险确实会增加。而且，长期持续的贸易逆差也需要谨慎对待，因为这涉及到融资问题。但总的来说，我们不能一概而论地认为所有贸易逆差都是有害的。 Heather Hurlburt: 大家好，我是希瑟·赫尔伯特。我个人认为，将国家与家庭预算进行类比是不准确的。一个国家在某些领域存在逆差，而在其他领域保持顺差，这完全是正常的经济现象。更重要的是，我们应该关注贸易逆差背后所反映的深层次问题，例如美国人如何维持生计，以及我们与世界其他国家的紧密联系。这些问题远比简单的关税政策复杂得多，也更具挑战性。特朗普总统喜欢使用关税，因为它们简单易懂，但实际上，关税并不能真正解决我们面临的根本问题。此外，我们还需要关注税收政策对企业行为的影响，以及如何通过调整税法来促进国内生产和就业。

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Shownotes Transcript

Is having a trade deficit necessarily a bad thing? Many experts argue that the U.S. trade deficit is largely good for our economy. It allows Americans to enjoy a wider variety of cheap goods, attracts foreign investment, and reflects the strength of the U.S. dollar. Others believe it’s a warning sign that we’re relying too much on imports, hurting American jobs, and racking up debt owed to other countries.

 

This season, Why It Matters is taking you through the ins and outs of trade. In this episode, we unpack the trade deficit. What is it and why has it become a primary focus of the second Trump administration?

 

Featured Guests

 

Brad W. Setser) (The Whitney Shepardson Senior Fellow specializing in global trade and capital flows, financial vulnerability analysis, and sovereign debt restructuring, CFR)

Heather Hurlburt) (Associate Fellow for the U.S. and the Americas Programme, Chatham House)

 

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/mind-trade-gap)