While the World Still Struggles, the U.S. Can Power Ahead
Now that the economy has been buoyed by mass vaccinations and big relief spending, the government has the chance to expand American exports to countries still suppressed by Covid.
The U.S. is in a good position to expand exports to the rest of the world.
Photographer: Tim Rue/Bloomberg
The U.S. is set to recover from the pandemic-induced recession faster than other rich countries thanks to its successful vaccination effort and copious relief spending. Though it might seem like weakness in the rest of the world will create a drag on U.S. growth, it actually provides an opportunity to increase exports.
In late 2020, what had been a rapid U.S. recovery slowed as a huge new wave of Covid-19 infections drove Americans back into their homes. Since then the U.S. has done surprisingly well at putting shots into arms, and new data suggest vaccines will be pretty effective even against the resistant strains now emerging around the world. When Covid no longer dominates the stage, American consumers will rush out to eat and shop and frolic, and the economy will be turbocharged. To top it off, the U.S. has been extremely generous with Covid relief spending, especially after the recent passage of President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion addition.