U.S. looks to balance exports, imports
President Obama is on a trip to Asia, where one of the big topics on his agenda will be trade. Mitchell Hartman reports.
President Barack Obama speaks alongside Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama during a press conference at Kantei, the prime minister's office and official residence, in Tokyo, Japan. (Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)
More on International, Asia
Links
- Audio: A look at the dollar, 'too big to fail'
Mark Vitner, managing director and senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities, talks with Steve Chiotakis about whether Obama's trip can be constructive given how weak the U.S. dollar is.
TEXT OF STORY
Stacey Vanek-Smith: President Obama is in Asia for the next week. One of the big topics on his agenda? Trade. Mitchell Hartman has more.
Mitchell Hartman: On the eve of his trip, President Obama explained his goals in ways a non-economist could easily understand.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: It's a strategy in which Asian and Pacific markets are open to our exports.
And, said the president, one in which the U.S. is no longer the global consumer of last resort -- buying and borrowing beyond its means to drive growth in Asia and other emerging economies.
Fariborz GHADAR: What has happened is, we've been buying Chinese goods, and they've been buying our paper.
Meaning, our debt, explains Fariborz Ghadar of the Penn State Center for Global Business Studies. Ghadar says the administration's message to China and other Asian powerhouses is: boost your domestic consumption.
GHADAR: Make sure your economy grows rapidly by buying stuff internationally, and specifically from us.
That way, continued rapid growth in Asia will help stimulate production and job creation in the U.S. as well.
I'm Mitchell Hartman for Marketplace.
Comments
Comment | Refresh
Post a Comment: Please be civil, brief and relevant.
Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments. All comments are moderated. Marketplace reserves the right to edit any comments on this site and to read them on the air if they are extra-interesting. Please read the Comment Guidelines before posting.
You must be 13 or over to submit information to American Public Media. The information entered into this form will not be used to send unsolicited email and will not be sold to a third party. For more information see Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.