President Donald Trump has long been preoccupied by the trade deficit—the gap between what the U.S. sells to the rest of the world and what it buys from it. He recently declared the issue a national emergency and used trade deficit data to calculate so-called “reciprocal tariffs” targeting nearly 100 countries. Although those specific tariffs are now on pause, Trump’s concern with the trade deficit persists.
If you really want to close the US trade deficit, try boosting innovation in rural manufacturing
