贸易逆差是否削弱了一国国际竞争力:美国经验

一国贸易逆差通常被认为会损害该国的国际竞争力。本文从美国巨额贸易逆差的成因入手,结合产品市场生命周期理论、国际分工现状两个方面分析逆差与竞争力的关系,认为美国巨额贸易逆差是美国经济增长与旺盛社会需求的结果,同时也是其国际分工、产业结构高级化的产物,由此反映出贸易逆差并未削弱美国竞争力。诸如日本、德国及印度等多国经验也显示贸易差额与一国国际竞争力的分离关系。因此,当前贸易差额已不能成为衡量一国国际竞争力的标准。

Does the Trade Deficit Weaken a Nation's International Competitiveness: the U.S. Case

It is usually considered that a nation's trade deficit will weaken its international com-petitiveness. This paper firstly analyzes the causes of trade deficit,and then analyzes the relations between deficit and competitiveness using product life cycle theory,international division of labor theory and evaluation index of international competitiveness. The analysis suggests that huge trade deficit in U.S. is the result of its economic growth and strong demand,the product of international division and advanced industrial structure,so trade deficit is the performance of its strong economy rather than the sign of declining in competitiveness. The experiences in Japan,Germany,India and other nations also show that non-correlation existed between deficit and a country's international competitiveness. Therefore,the trade balance can’t be used to measure a country's competitiveness any more.