"As the U.S. trade deficit, and the portion of that deficit attributed to China, continue to grow, our own economy is at risk of losing its reputation as a leader in world trade"
About this Quote
The intent is calibrated for a constituency that experiences globalization less as a macroeconomic abstraction and more as shuttered factories, wage pressure, and an uneasy sense that Washington has been asleep at the wheel. By isolating “the portion … attributed to China,” Emerson plugs into a then-rising bipartisan storyline: China isn’t merely a competitor, it’s an actor whose trade relationship with the U.S. feels structurally lopsided - subsidized manufacturing, currency disputes (in that era), and the perception of playing by different rules. Naming China concentrates diffuse anxiety into a target that can be negotiated with, sanctioned, or rhetorically confronted.
The subtext is also defensive. “Leader in world trade” recasts “free trade” as patriotism: open markets are fine as long as the U.S. is winning the optics and the outcomes. That’s a subtle pivot away from consumer benefits and toward power politics. In context, this kind of language sits squarely in the mid-2000s to early-2010s climate, when deficit charts and China’s export surge became shorthand for a broader story about deindustrialization - and a warning that economic imbalance could become geopolitical imbalance.
Quote Details
| Topic | Business |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Emerson, Jo Ann. (2026, January 17). As the U.S. trade deficit, and the portion of that deficit attributed to China, continue to grow, our own economy is at risk of losing its reputation as a leader in world trade. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/as-the-us-trade-deficit-and-the-portion-of-that-70588/
Chicago Style
Emerson, Jo Ann. "As the U.S. trade deficit, and the portion of that deficit attributed to China, continue to grow, our own economy is at risk of losing its reputation as a leader in world trade." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/as-the-us-trade-deficit-and-the-portion-of-that-70588/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"As the U.S. trade deficit, and the portion of that deficit attributed to China, continue to grow, our own economy is at risk of losing its reputation as a leader in world trade." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/as-the-us-trade-deficit-and-the-portion-of-that-70588/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.
