The Export Engine Needs a Turbocharge

摘要

A decade ago,many economists were optimistic that U.S.companies would be able to boost exports strongly enough to keep up with Americans' rapidly rising appetite for imports.Most predicted that the U.S.trade deficit would stabilize at perhaps a fraction of 1% of gross domestic product.But while imports have boomed,exports have grown far more slowly than anyone expected,contributing to the biggest trade gap in history.The Commerce Dept.said on Jan.28 that the trade deficit in goods and services hit an annual rate ofus688 billion in the fourth quarter of 2004,a record 5.7% of GDP.