President Trump suffers from what could be called trade-deficit derangement syndrome (TDDS), an obsession with trade deficits.

However, this affliction is not new. Over fifty years ago, in June 1976, a government-appointed committee recommended significant changes to how balance-of-payments data was presented. The committee suggested that trade data should be relegated to footnotes and the terms "deficit" and "surplus" be used cautiously due to their susceptibility to political misuse.

Despite these recommendations, TDDS was prevalent in Congress. Lawmakers resisted discarding the trade deficit as a political talking point and disregarded the committee's advice. The pursuit of a balanced trade ledger, as pursued by President Trump, is presented as a misguided endeavor, likened to the folly of seeking such balance in 1776.