This is overly simplistic. You should look at the trade from in value added basis and how the trade benefits different couturiers differently. Take for exampl

This is overly simplistic. You should look at the trade from in value added basis and how the trade benefits different couturiers differently. Take for example US vs China. US products exported to China have value added close to 80-90%. Chinese products exported to US have value added around 40%. If Chinese import stuff, join them together into a thing that has export value $100, only $40% of the value stays in China. When the US does the same $80-$90 of the value stays in the US. Trade agreements are negotiated over long time to be beneficial for everyone involved and nobody can claim that US is easy negotiation partner that has been taken an advantage. US allows higher taxation from other countries in exchange of some other things (lobbied by the the financial sector inside the US). In general the whole "imports bad, exports good" outdated folk mercantilism is just silly. It's unfortunate that the political discussion anywhere can't raise above that.