The U.S. imposed a wide range of trade restrictions on Japan in the 1980s. But the bilateral trade deficit remained high and declined with the Great Recession.

Is the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement unfair? The U.S. trade deficit with South Korea has doubled, but the deficit could have been larger without the treaty.

Access to foreign capital inflows allows the government, companies, and individuals to borrow at lower interest rates than would be the case if borrowing were limited to the domestic pool of savings.