Fracking the U.S. trade deficit

http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/Energy-Voices/2013/1008/Fracking-the-US-trade-deficit-video

Over the past decade, the natural gas production of the United States has increased greatly, and according to the author of this article, this new energy boom is starting to trim back the United States' trade deficit. Trade deficit is a measure of the difference between the value of a country's total imports and exports. A nation accumulates a trade deficit when the value of its total imports outweighs the value of its total exports, and America just happens to have the highest trade deficit in the world. But over the past few years, a new trend has been emerging as the U.S. has been slowly chipping away its trade deficit as energy costs have decreased, and dependence on foreign oil has dropped.

According to this article, this year the United States is expected to surpass Russia and Saudi Arabia as "the world's largest producer of oil and gas," and by 2020, the United States is expected to become the world's largest oil producer. Energy is turning out to be a big export for the United States, as more and more liquified natural gas is being shipped to other countries, which is a good first step in erasing our trade deficit. The article states that from 2011 to 2012, the U.S. trade deficit decreased by 13.5% from $559.9 billion to $540.4 billion, largely as a result of energy exports. Over the past few years, politicians have been speaking out frequently to address their concern over American companies outsourcing jobs to China, and thus stripping away America's once great industrial power. But if the United States can become the world leader in energy markets, perhaps that will be enough to offset the consequences of America's loss of manufacturing dominance.

The expansion of U.S. energy production will most certainly lead to more jobs, as energy companies hire new workers to meet increasing energy demands. But the biggest impact of increasing energy production will be the return of manufacturing plants and jobs to America, as companies become increasingly attracted to our lower energy costs. This long awaited return of manufacturing companies will greatly help offset our trade deficit when these firms begin shipping their products around the globe, adding to the United States' exports. Energy production is the future of American prosperity and, if current trends continue, will help shrink our trade deficit as well.