Trade Gap Between U.S. and China Widens

In August, the United States trade deficit widened to the highest point on record, a whopping $46.3 billion. As the gap widens between China and the U.S., concerns rise about China's dominance in the global economy. In order to stabilize the deficit, U.S. citizens are encouraged to purchase U.S. made goods. In order to accomplish this, U.S. goods are going to have to become more appealing to consumers.

Recent slowdowns in job and output growth have weighed on economic forecasts for the remainder of 2010. On Thursday, first-time claims for unemployment insurance provided the latest sign of a weak labor market, reaching 462,000 in the week of Oct. 9, an increase of 13,000 from the previous week, the Labor Department said. Economists had expected the number to go down, by 4,000.

America has become somewhat lazy in terms of producing quality goods that are in demand. The U.S. promotes capitalism but unfortunately does not follow much of its own advice. Capitalism depends on competition, but American producers have fallen behind and are letting producers such as China rush past us. If there is to be any hope of repaying our debt to China, it is necessary for the U.S. to take big steps towards improving sales of U.S. products without imposing dangerous tariffs on Chinese goods.