Imports of Intermediate Goods

The United States imports roughly a trillion dollars a year of intermediates. That's materials, partially assembled equipment that is used to make the finished products in the U.S. Those intermediate goods wind up making the domestic manufacturing operation much more efficient. So those imports do a great job of not just lowering the consumer price, but making those domestic manufacturers more competitive. The ultimate sense of how much economy depends on trade is minimized if we don't work on it.