The Trump administration is fighting a war of numbers with Canada, further escalating economic tensions with one of the biggest U.S. trading partners. President Donald Trump insisted on Thursday that the U.S. is at a trade disadvantage, while Canada denies anything of the sort. The complexity of the statistics measuring U.S.-Canadian trade flows allows each side the ability to support its claim by choosing from an array of data. The trade balance is Mr. Trump’s preferred yardstick for measuring whether the U.S. is gaining or losing from economic relationships with its partners. Trump administration officials typically focus on merchandise trade balances with other countries, which don’t account for trade in services such as insurance or tourism. The U.S. Census Bureau’s basic tally of merchandise trade with Canada lists U.S. exports at $282.4 billion and imports from Canada at $300 billion, indicating a deficit of $17.6 billion. read more https://www.wsj.com/articles/surplu...els-with-canada-over-trade-numbers-1521140488
