Working Wednesday: Exports and Imports

I am aware of 3 websites where information about current export and import statistics are readily available: the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Economic Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Please see for BEA:  https://mail.google.com/mail/?shva=1#inbox/132fd5674fc1ad1a and USDA: http://www.ers.usda.gov/Data/FATUS/. For some information about Ohio's foreign trade, see: http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/statistics/state/data/oh.html.

This week, the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, through the Department of Commerce, announced total August exports of $177.6 billion and imports of $223.2 billion resulted in a goods and services deficit of $45.6 billion, virtually unchanged from July, revised. The full text of the release on BEA's Web site can be found at www.bea.gov/newsreleases/international/trade/tradnewsrelease.htm

Update 10/17/11: The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture announced on 10/13 that our country sold 900,000 metric tons of corn to China. See: http://news.yahoo.com/china-corn-purchase-one-largest-ever-084328703.html

I find these statistics interesting. I usually look at what countries receive our American goods and how much is traded between us and them. Just because I find it interesting, doesn't mean I find answers to questions like:
1. if one of my goals is to be self-reliant, would I want my nation to be that way too? Would that shape my trade deals?
2. Would the strongest nations' currency be the most important? The most secure trade? The most trusted trade?
3. Politics must play a part in the export world because of the laws/regulations governing trade between countries. I realize that one of the reasons why the Constitution was created was because each state was making trade deals with other countries. But I also look at the list of countries we export the most to and find it isn't always our friends. Why is that?

If you are a small business and want to talk to someone about exporting, you may want to seek out the U.S. Small Business Administration's Export Assistance Centers. See: http://www.sba.gov/content/us-export-assistance-centers. They are located in several cities in Ohio: Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, and Toledo. Contact information is on the website.