I first read about “imported inputs” in a Wall Street Journal editorial published sometime in the late 1990s. It's a near certainty that the editors of the world's most important editorial page had written about them before, but it was around then that this most elementary of concepts registered with me.
The editorial page was correcting a fallacious economic narrative that lives to this day that says currency devaluation (in our case, devaluation of the dollar) results in greater competiveness for American producers. The editorial reminded readers that nearly every “American” good or service produced is the happy consequence of global cooperation. Translated, “imported inputs” from around the world very much factor into the production of what's American. If currency policy accents devaluation, the costs of producing stateside go up. American producers gain nothing from devaluation. Actually less than nothing as readers will soon see. But for now, the obvious should be stated. Currency devaluation doesn't confer a competitive advantage on producers in the devaluing country simply because the devaluation itself logically raises the cost of making things in the first place.
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