In a way, that doesn’t matter for the US. Consider that the US has an enormous trade deficit. If the US brought to even, then all those exporting countries with large surpluses would be in bad shape.

This is a complex problem, and when the US is the importer from the world, the mere decision to stop importing would send shockwaves through trade everywhere.

The problem is -the us exports one thing en mass- security. And its starting to use that for shakedowns- which is the moment everybody becomes his own sheriff.

And at this point that would also benefit the US. That mass security is not cheap.

If you are running $2 trillion deficits, then of course you will have trade deficits. You are an importer of goods and an exporter of USD. The problem will arise when your debt becomes unsustainable and alternatives to the USD emerge for settling international trade. This would lead to a decline in demand for USD, a drop in demand for U.S. debt, and reduced capital inflow into the U.S. stock market (end of recycling), essentially leading to a collapse of the current U.S. economic model.