The United States hasn't had a trade surplus (Exports greater than Imports) since 1975. This is partially due to floating exchange rates, but also due to our trade relationships with other countries. For this discussion we are going to talk a little about exchanging currency and then we are going to dive into the controversy that is the US trade deficit.

Part 1:Have you every exchanged dollars for another currency? Where did you exchange your dollars and why? How did you figure out how much foreign currency you should receive? Did you feel like you had more, less, or the same purchasing power in the foreign currency?

Part 2:Watch the video below about trade deficits. Summarize the main points of the video in two sentences. Do you think there is anything that this speaker is ignoring or forgetting that is important to this conversation? If so then please explain what he is missing,if not then explain why most Americans are so worried about the trade deficit. Do they just need to watch this video?

Are Trade Deficits Good or Bad? (3:32 Minutes)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOYcpcVIZMs