President Donald Trump has demanded China cut its trade deficit with the U.S. by US$200 billion by 2020 or face a host of punishing tariffs. After recent talks with the U.S., China agreed to reduce it but wouldn’t commit to a target. Regardless, my research in international economics tells me that meeting Trump’s demand is implausible. Economists use the term current account to refer to the difference between a nation’s exports and its imports in a given time period. If the U.S. exports more than it imports, then its account is in surplus. If imports exceed exports, there’s a deficit. With China, the U.S. imports a ... (full story)