This concern is a first cousin to the old mercantilist focus on whether a policy will improve or worsen the trade balance. A “mercantilist” could be defined as someone who believes that gains go only to the country that enjoys a higher trade surplus, mirrored by losses for the trading partner that runs a correspondingly higher deficit.
长期以来，美国贸易争论的核心是某项政策会增加还是减少就业数量。这一关注点是昔日的重商主义观点的近亲——一项政策会改善还是恶化贸易平衡。“重商主义者”可以定义为相信只有贸易盈余较高的国家才能受益的观点的人，反之，因此出现较高贸易赤字的贸易伙伴蒙受损失。