Macroeconomics › Section J · International trade and capital flows › Topic J.1
Measuring trade balances
News reports say a country "ran a trade deficit" as if it were one simple number. In fact there are several measures, from goods alone to the full current account, and knowing which one you are looking at is the first step to judging what it means.
In this topic
- Exports, imports and the balance
- Goods first, then services
- The current account
- Primary and secondary income
- Where the numbers come from
- Worked example: a hypothetical country
- Worked example: the United States in 2025
- Scaling by GDP
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
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