President George Bush is reputed to have said “90% of Americas imports are
\nnow coming from overseas.” This unfortunate statement is deceptively
\nmeaningful, but false. If accurate it suggests one of three (equally
\nplausible) things about the President:<\/p>\n
(1) He doesn’t have a firm enough grasp of economics to know that imports
\ncome from other countries;<\/p>\n
(2) He is woefully incorrect about the basic facts of American trade;<\/p>\n
(3) He cares more for rhetoric than truth.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Consider first this interpretation of the quote: “90% of our imports come
\nfrom other countries.” This implies that somehow 10% of American imports
\ncome from America itself, which defies definition:<\/p>\n
things brought from a foreign or external source; especially : things The second, more charitable interpretation of the quote: “90% of our \nThe final interpretation is “trade is important”. Assume that the quote is
\n(such as merchandise) brought into a place or country from another
\ncountry<\/i> [Merriam-Webster<\/a>]<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\nimports cross the oceans from other countries.” This sense is meaningful,
\nbut untrue. Approximately 20% of American imports come from Canada and
\nanother 12% come from Mexico. Therefore upwards of 32% of American imports
\ncome from neighboring countries, primarily over the land borders. This
\nleaves only 68% of imports to come from “overseas”, substantially lower
\nthan the 90% alleged in the quote. You would think a Texas governor would
\nhave a better grasp of the trade significance of Mexico (which by itself
\nmakes the quote untrue).\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\nmere rhetoric and it’s factual content is irrelevant then you can
\nrecognize the symbolism it ties up: 90% = important; imports = good
\neconomy; overseas = other countries. In short: “Trading with other
\ncountries is good.”<\/p>\n