Trading gaps are a red herring.
True, however in this case it may be a good thing.
I'm not interested in the fact that our "trade gap" has decreased. I don't really care.
However, it is an illustration of how these so-called "trade gaps" ARE a red herring.
People say: "If we keep importing more than we export, all our jobs will go to China!"
This proves that cannot happen.
If our jobs disappear, people will accept lower wages (like what is happening here as our economy is suffering).
We will then buy fewer foreign goods and foreigners will buy more of our goods.
So, you want a trade surplus? Just agree that Americans need to make less money. We'd have a HUGE surplus.