U.S. looks to balance exports, imports

TEXT OF STORY

Stacey Vanek-Smith: President Obama is in Asia for the next week. One of the big topics on his agenda? Trade. Mitchell Hartman has more.

Mitchell Hartman: On the eve of his trip, President Obama explained his goals in ways a non-economist could easily understand.

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: It’s a strategy in which Asian and Pacific markets are open to our exports.

And, said the president, one in which the U.S. is no longer the global consumer of last resort — buying and borrowing beyond its means to drive growth in Asia and other emerging economies.

Fariborz GHADAR: What has happened is, we’ve been buying Chinese goods, and they’ve been buying our paper.

Meaning, our debt, explains Fariborz Ghadar of the Penn State Center for Global Business Studies. Ghadar says the administration’s message to China and other Asian powerhouses is: boost your domestic consumption.

GHADAR: Make sure your economy grows rapidly by buying stuff internationally, and specifically from us.

That way, continued rapid growth in Asia will help stimulate production and job creation in the U.S. as well.

I’m Mitchell Hartman for Marketplace.