The answer is: United States would have a deficit of $11 billion in the given year.
A trade surplus occurs when a country exports more than it imports. On the other hand, a deficit is when a country imports more products than it exports.
In the above example, the United States is exporting only $5 billion of goods but importing $16 billion of products. This means that the total trade deficit in the example is 16-5 = $11 billion.
This actually represents the current situation of the United States where it has a significant trade deficit with many major economies in the world, most noticeably with China.
The correct answer is: "The US has a trade deficit of $11 billion".
If the amount of goods imported in a country exceeds the amount of goods exported, like in the case presented, there had been a trade deficit. It can be also said that the country has registered a negative balance of payments. In this scenario, the country will have to seek for resources to finance that difference between the inflows and outflows. Moreover, a trade deficit represents an outflow of domestic currency to foreign markets.
Communities with war industries experienced an immediate labor surplus when those industries closed down, and the large numbers of returning soldiers added to the unemployment problem.
