Of course not--they are pure fiction. For imports to add to the real GDP of an economy they must a) be primary or intermediate products and b) be priced so low that the final products into which they are transformed can be profitably exported; or else they must be primary or intermediate peoducts that cannot be produced domestically and therefore are needed for the domestic production of consumable or capitalizable final products for the domestic economy. If any Chinese imports into the US fit into either of these categories they must represent only a tiny percentage of the total imports.
Shane Mage
"When we read on a printed page the doctrine of Pythagoras that all things are made of numbers, it seems mystical, mystifying, even downright silly.
When we read on a computer screen the doctrine of Pythagoras that all things are made of numbers, it seems self-evidently true." (N. Weiner)
>Alexandre Fenelon wrote:
>
>>
>> Blaming 'undervalued' yuan wins votes
>> By Henry C K Liu
>>
>>
>> The numbers for other product types vary, but the pattern is
>> similar. The $1.439 trillion of imports to the United States in 2002 were
>> directly responsible for some $3.35 trillion of US GDP, almost 32 percent of
>> its $10.45 trillion economy.
>
>--
>
>Michael Perelman
>Economics Department
>California State University
>michael at ecst.csuchico.edu
>Chico, CA 95929
>530-898-5321
>fax 530-898-5901
>
>
>___________________________________
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