What has caused the U.S. run a merchandise trade deficit year after year since the early 1980s?

Your hometown newspaper needs someone to write an informative article on large scale economic issues. The reporter who spoke with you before thinks of you, welcomes you home, and requests another article. Click here to view a summary of disaggregated data drawn from information provided on the 2000 U.S. balance of payments which is in the 2002 federal document, Economic Report of the President, available on the web.

In addition to the balance of payments data presented above, the Bureau of Economic Analysis’ document entitled, International Investment Position of the United States (http://www.bea.gov/bea/newsrel/intinvnewsrelease.htm) offers the following information.

"At year-end 2002, the value of foreign investments in the United States exceeded the value of U.S. investments abroad by $2,387.2 billion (preliminary) with direct investment valued at current cost. At year-end 2001, foreign investments in the United States exceeded U.S. investments abroad by $1,979.9 billion (revised)."

Write a 2-3 page article on the United States’s current account deficit. The reporter will edit your material down to a usable length but asked for plenty of material with which to start. She requests that you answer the following questions:

What has caused the U.S. run a merchandise trade deficit year after year since the early 1980s?
Is the current account a deficit problem? Explain.
Is the trend of the international investment position of the U.S. problematic? Why or why not?
How is the current account related to a country’s business cycle?
What is the relationship between a country’s net financial inflow and its current account?
How does the U.S make adjustments for the balance of payment issues?