… about trade deficits, Carpe Diem starts with this:

Nations Don’t Trade With Each Other; Individuals Do
WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The United States imported $2.74 billion of “oil country tubular goods” from China in 2008, more than triple the previous year, as a surge in oil prices led to increased demand for the oil well tubing and casing.

MP: The statement above perpetuates a common misconception about international trade that clouds clear thinking about the topic. Technically, the United States did NOT import $2.74 billion of steel pipe from China, at least not as a “country.” It was dozens, if not hundreds, of American-owned companies that voluntarily placed hundreds, if not thousands, of individual purchase orders in 2008 to purchase Chinese steel from dozens, if not hundreds, of steel-producing companies in China who filled the orders totalling $2.72 billion, and shipped the steel.

and finishes with this:

Bottom Line: Starting with the fallacy that countries, not individuals, engage in international trade, it’s then much harder to realize that it’s individual American companies and consumers who are penalized, taxed and disadvantaged by trade protection. By understanding that only individuals ultimately trade, it’s then much easier to see that trade barriers typically protect a concentrated, small but well-organized group of inefficient domestic producers from more efficient foreign competition, while imposing huge and significant costs on other Americans - domestic companies that buy imported inputs and ultimately millions of U.S. consumers.

You should, of course, read everything in between as well. It’s a great read, and also illustrates an important critical thinking point: that language and wording can influence how people think and form opinions about things. Thinking cannot be separated from language, and it is easy to confuse the issue and mislead the listener/reader using cleverly chosen words (even unintentionally).