WaPo: “Exports grew 12.7 percent between 2005 and 2006. This year, they are on track to increase even more.”
Don has a must read for those of you interested in reading a comparative analysis on the rise of the economies in third world countries and America’s exports.
Maybe it is the fall of the dollar’s value compared to the euro, the loon and myriad other currencies.
Or maybe it is, as Michael Fletcher of the Washington Post suggested, the rising living standards in other nations.
But at any rate, demand for American products overseas is rising. Reported Fletcher: “Nationally, exports grew 12.7 percent between 2005 and 2006. This year, they are on track to increase even more, allowing the economy to continue growing at a healthy clip despite the steep downturn in the housing industry.
“Whether this boom is a temporary phenomenon tied to the declining dollar or a harbinger of a fundamental shift propelled by the rapid rise in living standards in developing nations is the subject of intense debate.”
The WSJ had this to say:
Strong global growth is propping up the U.S. economy.
Global economic growth is raising demand for U.S. goods, offsetting softer domestic consumption. Emerging markets, which buy more than half of U.S. exports, continue to grow, some at an accelerating pace, even as industrialized economies cool.
A weakening dollar — in part due to the Fed’s easing of interest rates — will help carry the economy through its rough patch. It will help make U.S. exports more attractive to foreign consumers, and help U.S. producers that compete with foreign producers. Moreover, foreign companies may capitalize further on the falling dollar by investing more in the U.S. — for example, by buying stock in American companies or setting up their own factories in the U.S.
Trade grows the economy.
December 29, 2007 - 01:00 PM on December 29th, 2007
Predictable MSM/Democrite reaction: If this is bad, it’s Bush’s fault. If it’s good, it’s because of our wonderful new Democrat Congress!!!