Spicing up those trade figures

Posted by Stan on 3/11/08 • Categorized as International Trade

My latest complaint is with news accounts of the PRC trade balance numbers. OK, yes the trade surplus went down a lot, but everyone who doesn’t live in a cave understands that a lot of this has to do with the snowstorms. Is there a general shrinking of the trade gap due to a slow in U.S. demand? Sure. But the breathless articles that are overstating the role of US demand in February are really starting to piss me off.

The Guardian: China’s Trade Surplus in Dramatic Fall

Forbes: China Trade Surplus Falls Steeply in February

Bloomberg: China Trade Surplus Narrows as US Demand Weakens

AFP: China’s Trade Surplus Drops Sharply in February


1 Comment

  1. Chris Devonshire-Ellis
    Wednesday, March 12, 2008 • 9:56 am

    Hi Stan, US imports fell by nearly 11% in January – but China’s exports doubled from the previous years to 24% during the same month. The US may not be buying as much but China is certainly still selling. Japan I believe took up much of the leeway.