balance of trade
noun phrase
: the difference in value over a period of time between a country's imports and exports
Examples of balance of trade in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Also referred to as a negative balance of trade, it can be calculated for goods, services, and international transactions.
—
Rachel Barber, USA Today, 8 Apr. 2025
With export sales of $23 billion in 2023, audiovisual exports consistently generate a positive balance of trade with nearly every other country.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 31 Mar. 2025
At a time of shrinking demand and high costs, rising protectionism globally, particularly in the US, will stifle our exports and damage over £400m worth of the steel sector's contribution to the UK's balance of trade.
—David Faris, Newsweek, 27 Feb. 2025
The resulting negative balance of trade (Imports>Exports) is also a negative in the GDP calculation.
—Robert Barone, Forbes, 7 Sep. 2024
That also drastically and rapidly shifted the nation’s balance of trade on oil.
—Ken Roberts, Forbes, 16 Aug. 2024
In the complex world of economic balance of trade accounting, international students are the tourists visiting U.S. campuses.
—Barnet Sherman, The Conversation, 13 Aug. 2024
But Washington quickly pressured Japan to turn the FSX program into a joint U.S.-Japanese venture; U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger both appealed to the Japanese government, citing balance of trade concerns.
—Humza Ahmad, Foreign Affairs, 22 Mar. 2012
But these Chinese goods are still entering Latin American markets at a frantic pace: the region’s balance of trade with China, still in surplus in 2005, had fallen into a deep deficit of $30 billion by 2015.
—Luke Patey, Foreign Affairs, 21 Nov. 2016
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Rachel Barber, USA Today, 8 Apr. 2025
With export sales of $23 billion in 2023, audiovisual exports consistently generate a positive balance of trade with nearly every other country.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 31 Mar. 2025
At a time of shrinking demand and high costs, rising protectionism globally, particularly in the US, will stifle our exports and damage over £400m worth of the steel sector's contribution to the UK's balance of trade.
—David Faris, Newsweek, 27 Feb. 2025
The resulting negative balance of trade (Imports>Exports) is also a negative in the GDP calculation.
—Robert Barone, Forbes, 7 Sep. 2024
That also drastically and rapidly shifted the nation’s balance of trade on oil.
—Ken Roberts, Forbes, 16 Aug. 2024
In the complex world of economic balance of trade accounting, international students are the tourists visiting U.S. campuses.
—Barnet Sherman, The Conversation, 13 Aug. 2024
But Washington quickly pressured Japan to turn the FSX program into a joint U.S.-Japanese venture; U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger both appealed to the Japanese government, citing balance of trade concerns.
—Humza Ahmad, Foreign Affairs, 22 Mar. 2012
But these Chinese goods are still entering Latin American markets at a frantic pace: the region’s balance of trade with China, still in surplus in 2005, had fallen into a deep deficit of $30 billion by 2015.
—Luke Patey, Foreign Affairs, 21 Nov. 2016
Cite this Entry
“Balance of trade.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/balance%20of%20trade. Accessed 6 May. 2025.
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