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COPYRIGHT 2003 Newsweek, Inc. All rights reserved. Any reuse, distribution or alteration without express written permission of Newsweek is prohibited. For permission: www.newsweek.com
Byline: Robert J. Samuelson
The global trading system is in trouble--mainly because it became overdependent on big U.S. trade deficits. From 1996 to 2002, the American trade deficit jumped from $191 billion to $485 billion. We Americans are buying vast amounts of foreign-made pots and pans, cars, CD and DVD players, bicycles, clocks, umbrellas, socks and shoes. In 1996, the United States imported $1.31 of goods for every $1 it exported; now, the import figure is approaching $2 (it's $1.79 so far in 2003).
America's eager consumers have long been the world's buyers of first and last resort. But it seems unlikely that U.S. trade deficits will increase by the $50 billion to $100 billion a year necessary for...
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