From a small northwestern observatory…

Alexis Crow, who leads the geopolitical investing practice at Price Waterhouse Coopers, has a stunningly important article on trade in today’s Washington Post.  I recommend you read it here.  In short, Trump’s trade war misses a very important point — the U.S. economy has matured from manufactured goods to services, and actually runs a net surplus of such services to the rest of the world.

As she notes, “Providing services is the heartbeat of America’s new economic growth, including IT and communications services, logistics, warehousing, leisure, hospitality, health care, business and legal services.“. She goes on to note that wealth created by America’s trading partners — China, Japan, etc. — translates into purchase of American services, including travel, media, IT, logistics, and entertainment.  By 2026, fully 81% of American jobs will be in such service areas, and our trade surplus in these areas is already nearly $300 Billion per year.