Debate Should the U.S. Import Fewer Goods?

March 10, 2025

The United States has the largest economy in the world, but that doesn’t mean Americans make most of the products that we use. In fact, in recent decades, the U.S. has had a very large trade deficit—meaning it imports far more from other nations than it sells to them. In 2023, the trade deficit—or the difference between the value of imports and exports—was $773 billion, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

President Trump wants to decrease imports by imposing tariffs* on foreign-made goods. Economists and politicians disagree on whether all those imports are bad for the U.S. Some say that they provide American consumers with a wider selection of products at more reasonable prices. Others say our overreliance on imports hurts American industries. Whether and by what means our government should tackle the trade deficit was one of the issues in the 2024 presidential election.

So should the U.S. import fewer goods from foreign countries? Two economic policy analysts—one from a conservative think tank and the other from a liberal think tank—face off on the question.

Importing goods from other countries has many benefits, such as allowing American businesses to offer customers more products and lower prices. Unfortunately, those cheap products come with a very high cost for our nation.

First, importing foreign goods puts American businesses and workers at a disadvantage. Many other countries don’t have laws to protect workers and the environment. In China, businesses making everything from lithium batteries to toys use forced labor or child labor, and many countries are lenient about factory pollution. Without restrictions, businesses can produce their goods more cheaply, making them inexpensive to buy elsewhere in the world. How can American businesses that pay their workers more and foot the cost of high environmental standards compete, at home or on the global market, against companies that adhere to lower standards?

Cheap imports come at a high price for our nation’s economy and security.

Another problem is that the U.S. is becoming dependent on other countries, potentially unfriendly ones, for its technology. American companies invented the computer chips that power things from phones and cars to military and surveillance equipment, but now we make none of the most advanced chips here. That’s because foreign governments such as those in South Korea and Taiwan offer tech companies financial incentives to build factories in their countries. We need to offer these companies incentives to manufacture here in the U.S. If China-—which has threatened to take over Taiwan by force—gets its hands on these advanced chips, the tech race will become much more competitive and our national security could be at risk.

These problems have led to a third one: The U.S. has gotten out of the practice of making things. We’re not producing enough stuff to export to the rest of the world in return for what countries sell us. We’re basically running up the bill on our national credit card, enjoying cheap goods today and putting off the consequences until tomorrow.

The American economy needs policies that encourage importing less and making more things here. Our nation’s prosperity and security depend on it.

—OREN CASS
Director, American Compass

Our favorite stores provide us with everything from smartphones and TVs to fresh strawberries in the winter and inexpensive clothes for summer. We have these things because the federal government has generally imposed low trade barriers on imports from other countries, making it cheap and easy for us to choose among the world’s goods.

The argument for restricting trade is that it would make foreign goods more expensive so consumers will buy American-made products instead—and that would be good for domestic businesses and workers. But restrictive trade policies more often create problems for our economy.

Usually, they just raise prices without doing anything for domestic production. Take sneakers, for example. At press time, the U.S. charges businesses importing cheap sneakers a tariff of 48% of the sneakers’ value. That cost gets passed on to consumers. And the measure doesn’t protect the shoe industry or jobs in the U.S.—because no business here makes them. Imagine what high tariffs could mean for other everyday products.

Importing foreign-made goods lowers prices for consumers.

Restrictive policies can also cut us off from stuff we depend on. For instance, because of regulations including high tariffs, nearly all infant formula sold in the U.S. is made in local factories using local milk. That creates a chronic supply risk, as we saw a couple of years ago during the global supply chain crisis. When a single U.S. formula manufacturer had to recall some of its product, it triggered a nationwide shortage.

Of course, some restrictions are necessary. For our safety and national security, the government buys police telecommunications and military equipment only from domestic makers or international allies. And federal law bans importing products made with forced labor.

But as the U.S. buys the rest of what it needs from other countries, it’s important to remember that it also has many of its own products to sell, from medicine and MRI machines to airplanes and satellites, to software and movies. Let’s focus on that so we can continue to import the stuff we don’t make, and let Americans buy what they like at the best price.

—ED GRESSER
Director, Progressive Policy Institute

^{*Taxes on foreign imports, used to protect domestic industries from competition. At press time, President Trump had plans to increase tariffs on imports.}