The Commerce Department, on its excellent website on Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), now lists exports, imports, and trade balances with our FTA partners.  Their FTA trade tables show that, contrary to anti-trade allegations, the United States has a manufactured goods trade surplus with our FTA partners.

The FTA trade tables show both total trade and trade in manufactured goods.  While total trade with FTA partners is in deficit, manufactured goods (shown on page two of the FTA Trade Tables) are in surplus.  Oil imports from NAFTA are the reason why total trade is in deficit – but oil imports don’t affect U.S. jobs negatively.  The United States needs more oil from friendly sources right next door, and NAFTA is our largest supplier of oil.

When anti-trade elements attack FTAs as costing U.S. manufacturing jobs, they are implying that the United States has a large and growing deficit in manufactured goods trade with FTAs.  This alleged deficit implies that imports from FTA partners grew faster than exports, hurting job opportunities.

But that is absolutely false, as the International Trade Administration’s FTA Trade Tables show.  The truth is that when it comes to manufactured goods, the United States has had a trade surplus with FTA partners for several years: $27 billion in 2009, $23 billion in 2010, and $21 billion for the first half of this year – implying a $42 billion annual rate of surplus for 2011.

The data show that manufactured goods exports to FTA partners have been growing faster than imports from them, which makes sense since our trade agreements have cut their trade barriers to us much more than we have cut our trade barriers to them.

The FTA Trade Tables show that we have a manufactured goods surplus with NAFTA so far this year amounting to $4.1 billion – a $8.2 billion annual rate; and a manufactured goods surplus with CAFTA of $2 billion – a $4 billion annual rate. (continue reading…)

The U.S. merchandise trade balance improved in October 2009, with the bulk of the gain coming from manufactured goods trade. On the basis of the Commerce Department trade figures released today, the NAM has calculated that seasonally adjusted October trade deficit for manufactured goods was $24.8 billion, compared to $27.6 billion in September.

The $2.7 billion improvement in the manufactured goods balance accounted for 85 percent of the overall gain in the merchandise trade balance. October manufactured goods exports were 2.8 percent higher than in September, while imports fell marginally by 0.8 percent.

Exports were paced by the vital capital goods sector, which accounts for nearly half of U.S. manufactured goods exports. Capital goods exports rose 3.7 percent over September. The fact that 21 of the 32 capital goods categories showed growth indicates that the export recovery is broadening..

Trade fluctuates monthly, so not too much can be inferred from one-month changes. However, the October figures reinforce the recovering trend evident in that exports have risen in four of the last five months. October manufactured goods exports were 14 percent higher than their trough in May 2009. Though it is clear manufactured goods exports are recovering, there is still a long way to go, as October exports were still 20 percent below the July 2008 peak immediately before the collapse in world trade.

The recovering export growth, coupled with slower imports stemming from reduced U.S. consumer demand, have combined to slash the U.S. deficit in manufactured goods nearly in half. The deficit peaked at $46 billion in February 2007, compared to the October 2009 deficit of 24.8 billion.

Manufactured goods trade with free trade partners (NAFTA, CAFTA, and the other free trade agreements) continued to be in surplus in 2009, which through September was at an annual rate of $26 billion – up from the $21 billion surplus in 2008. As we often point out, contrary to the claims of trade critics, the United States has a [manufactured goods*] trade surplus with the countries with which the United States has concluded free trade agreements.

* Editor’s mistake, corrected 8:55 a.m. Friday. In editing copy, I omitted the important qualifier, “manufactured goods.” Thanks to commenter Karl for the catch.