, Columnist
Suddenly, America's Trade Deficit Isn't So Awful
Tax avoidance depresses corporate earnings from exports. Some of that will end with the bill Republicans just passed.
An American product, sold there, profit booked elsewhere.
Photographer: Qilai Shen/BloombergIt’s possible that more than half of the U.S.'s trade deficit is a mirage -- an artifact of corporate shenanigans designed to avoid taxes.
Official statistics say that the U.S. trade deficit is about 3 percent of gross domestic product -- smaller than in the 2000s, but still historically large: