When a Trade Deficit Provides a Surplus : How Semi-finished and Finished Product Imports Yield Gains When Sold

In face of the continuation of America’s enormous trade and current account deficits each year, President Obama called for a 50% increase in the annual volume of United States exports and President Trump is calling for the replacement of foreign made with domestically made products. The goal of achieving these significant improvements in the country’s import-export performance is to curtail, if not eliminate, recurring trade deficits.It may be suggested that among many ways, trade deficits can be decreased through reductions in the volume and dollar value of imports. However, many semi-finished and finished product imports do become components of finished products and of commercial transactions that are usually designated as parts of the domestic contributions to the economy. By adding to the gross domestic product (GDP) of the United States these imports become sources for the country’s economic growth generating as well exporting processes.This paper examines the role of such imports as origins of positive economic values for the United States economy and then demonstrates the potentials of major benefits by providing a series of case examples