Tobacco contributes over $18.2 billion to trade balance.

PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY--If the U. S. tobacco industry had failed to be competitive in world markets during the period 1986-1990, the U.S. trade deficit would have grown an additional $18.2 billion, according to a recent study by the Tobacco Merchants Association (TMA).

The report-"Tobacco's Positive Contribution to the U.S. Trade Balance: 1986-1990"-chronicles the industry's climb from over $2.7 billion in total exports in 1986 to nearly $6.5 billion in exports in 1990.

Last year alone, while the U.S. industry as a whole produced a merchandise trade deficit of $101 billion, the U.S. tobacco industry contributed $5.66 billion to the positive side of the …