Thomas Mun Quotes

May our exports be so great, and our imports so small, that the balance of trade may be in our favor.

By definition, by reducing our trade deficit we will be hurting consumers. Consumers are always better off with a trade deficit.

It will be found, that as some particular Men in a Town grow richer, and thrive better than others; so also do Nations, who by Trade serving the occasions of their Neighbors, supply themselves with what they have occasion for from abroad; which done, the rest is laid up, and is Silver, Gold, etc. for as I said, these being commutable for everything, and of small bulk, are still preferr'd to be laid up, till occasion shall call them out to supply other Necessaries wanted.

We are the greatest trading country in the world because we have the greatest exportation of the growth and product of our land and of the manufacture and labor of our people; and the greatest importation and consumption of the growth, product, and manufactures of other countries from abroad, of any nation in the world.

All those trucks and barges that carry our goods to port are vital connections to the only force which can balance our trade deficit: export. We must keep doing what we do best if we are going to get America out of the red.

It is not repeated large Emissions [printing] of a base Paper-Currency, but our Imports exceeding our Exports, that occasions Silver to be ship'd off in Ballance

When a Nation exports more or less Labour, than is imported into it, that difference between Exports and Imports of Labour, is called Ballance of Trade

Nations finding the Export of Money or Bullion to pay the ballance due by Trade, a loss of so much Riches, and very hurtful to Trade, might have discharg'd the Import of such Goods as the People could best want; Or laid a Duty on them, such as might have lessen'd their Consumption: They might have given encouragement to Industry, whereby the Product would have been encreas'd and improv'd, or discourag'd extravagant Consumption, whereby the Overplus to Export would have been greater; Any one of these Methods would have brought Trade and Exchange equal

Trade never balances. It hasn’t since 1776.

If trade deficits are good, why is China so pleased that they run a huge trade surplus? It's perfectly obvious that if China hadn't been such a huge net-exporter, it never would have grown at the rate that it did.

There's no such thing as a trade deficit.

This is what Donald Trump understands. This is the trade deficit. We run a trade deficit of close to $800 billion a year.

Historically, large-scale global trade has served two functions: 1) the exchange of goods between willing sellers and buyers described in Econ 101 textbooks; 2) as a tool of state aggrandizement, in which the private parties are stand-ins for governmental interests.

America is becoming more and more dependent upon imports from foreign manufacturers than we are exports from our country in all fields: in appliances, in clothing, even food. This year America may become for the first time in its history a net food importer.

Countries trade with one another for the same reasons that individuals, businesses, and regions do: to exploit their comparative advantages.

Nearly every one of the foreign financial crises of recent decades has led to an increase in the U. S. trade deficit.

China must voluntarily cut back on exports to America otherwise American politics will become unmanageable.

A liberal economy doesn’t mean opening wide the doors for imports.

The arguments for protection are more easily made attractive than those for free trade.

The popular notion is that imports are bad and exports are good.

It is easy to observe, that all calculations concerning the balance of trade are founded on very uncertain facts and suppositions.

Although a Kingdom may be enriched by gifts received, or by purchase taken from some other Nations, yet these are things uncertain and of small consideration when they happen. The ordinary means therefore to increase our wealth and treasure is by Foreign Trade

More being produced and imported than we can spend here, we export it to other countries in Europe, which brings in money or the growth of those countries, which is the same thing. And this is Ito] the advantage of the English merchants and seamen

The strong point of England is her cheap goods.

Considering our luxury, and our great expense of foreign wares here at home, we could not have grown rich without other dealings in the world.