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International Trade and Its Impact on Us Economy Essay

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International Trade and its Impact on the U.S. Economy

Abstract

The international trade sector of the U.S. economy continues to draw attention in economic and political circles. It is true that, the international market has become increasingly important as a source of demand for U.S. production and a source of supply for U.S. consumption. Indeed, it is substantially more important than is implied by the usual measures that relate the size of the international sector to the overall economy. This paper explores the role international trade now plays in the U.S. economy and answers the important questions for economic policy: How does international trade affect economic well-being? Who gains and who loses from free …show more content…

The general standard for measuring the overall size of the nation's economic activity is the value of gross domestic product (GDP). One of the components of GDP is a measure of the value of exports and imports of goods and services. The hitch is that GDP includes a large component of non-tradable that does not or cannot enter into international trade flows to any significant degree-for example, most buildings and structures, and personal and government services. Consequently, even though internationally traded items such as financial services and travel and transportation services are included in GDP, when we compare the size of the foreign sector with the size of the domestic economy, we end up comparing apples with apples and pomegranates. As a result, comparing exports or imports of goods and services to GDP may understate the importance of international trade to relevant sectors of the domestic economy Another issue is export. What proportion of the nation's output that is potentially exportable is in fact exported? One way to address this more narrow question is to begin with the domestic output of the goods-producing sectors of the economy, as measured by the value of final exports of goods, plus change in goods inventories,

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