re: Stocks crater as nations vow to retaliate against Trump's tariffs.

quote:

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Retaliate against trying to equal trade?

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I'll admit right off the bat that I have no more than a layman's grasp of economics, and even that's being generous, but what exactly does 'equal trade' or 'eliminating the trade deficit' between the US and a country like Indonesia or Vietnam actually look like?

We buy a ton of cheap shite from Indonesia, for example, but their population mostly exists in sustenance level poverty. Does equal trade and eliminating the trade deficit mean we want them to spend an equal amount on our goods? Because that doesn't seem possible. We have money and they don't. Which, to me, seems to make a trade deficit the natural conclusion when rich countries trade with poor countries, and not necessarily a bad thing.

Apologize if a stupid question. I'm just trying to gain a better understanding of what we're doing here.