The US does have a few things of value to exchange with the rest of the world outside NA, like food, for the little that it needs to import. Gold and platinum are not needs. They are worthless in the larger scheme of things, in my view, and, anyway, the US has enough PM mines to produce the little that is needed for industrial use. Food, natural gas, copper, etc. etc. are a lot more valuable.
Again, you need to look at scale of economies. The US produces a quarter of the world's GDP. A retreat to NA, with NAFTA still in force, will create a self contained group with a third of the world's GDP and everything it needs to sustain a robust competitive economy without having to tangle with serial mercantilists in Asia and Europe that, IMO, hurt rather than help the USA. |
