CSBJ Daily

The increasing U.S. trade deficit with China has cost 2.3 million American jobs between 2001 and 2007, including 366,000 last year alone, according to a study released by the Economic Policy Institute.

The displaced workers lost an average of $8,146 last year, a total of $19.4 billion, as they moved to lower-paying jobs.

Rapidly growing imports of computers and electronic parts accounted for nearly half the $178 billion increase in the trade deficit between 2001 and 2008. More than a quarter of last year’s trade deficit was due to advanced technology products, nearly six times the deficit in 2002. In contrast, the United States has a $15 billion trade surplus with the rest of the world in advanced technology products.