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The role of the strong dollar in international trade

It makes American products more expensive abroad and may continue to for a while.

The latest glimpse of the U.S. trade pictures comes courtesy of U.S. Census data out Tuesday on imports and exports of goods.

The U.S. has long imported more than it exports. But the strong dollar is deepening that dynamic, because American goods are now more expensive abroad, crimping demand for them. Even if the dollar’s value rises next year relative to other currencies, we may see a few more years of widening trade deficits, because the dollar’s effects take a few years to flush through the economy.

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