Citi Sees China Struggling to Fill Shopping Cart With U.S. Goods
- U.S. has capacity to boost exports of only selected products
- Extra purchases would need altered trade flows, investment
Imported U.S. beef in China.
Photographer: Qilai Shen/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The U.S. lacks the capacity to sell $1.2 trillion more goods to China as part of any trade deal without diverting exports away from other countries and investing in new production, according to Citigroup Inc.
China has offered to make the additional purchases over six years and thereby help reduce the U.S. trade deficit. However, analysis of the International Trade Centre’s Export Potential Map shows America’s ability to quickly boost sales to the Asian nation is limited to selected products “without major adjustments and disruptions,” Citigroup economists Dana Peterson and Catherine Mann wrote in a March 6 report.