Bingo. I sell a $10 million design to China, get paid in gold, and the trade deficit goes down another $10 million.
You live in Panama outside of US tax jurisdiction. You are not in the US Dollar eco-system. Anything you sell to China is counted in Panama's trade numbers if they keep any that are reliable. Which I doubt.
>> I sell a $10 million design to China, get paid in gold, and the trade deficit goes down another $10 million.
The Chinese have mastered low-cost manufacturing whereas we have largely forgotten how to do it.
To truly master low-cost manufacturing requires combining stringent quality control with relentless downward pressure on manufacturing cost. It is not an empty exercise best left to uneducated third-world countries. It is one “skill engine” that drives an economy.
The country that focuses on manufacturing excellence will soon have an educated population that is motivated to excel at design, also.
The country that abandons manufacturing as unworthy of its talents? Not so much.
Congratulations on selling your ten million dollar design to China. Save a portion of it against the day when the Chinese design their OWN products. It’s coming.