Occasionally, an economic concept grabs national headlines - often weaponized for political gain - and trickles down to the dinner tables of everyday folks. One of those recurring concepts is the “trade deficit.”

It sounds ominous, right? A deficit. That’s bad! It means we’re losing! Someone is taking advantage of us!

Except… that’s not how trade, or the economy, actually works. And here in Eagle County, it’s worth unpacking why the rhetoric of trade wars and trade deficits is not just misleading but is harmful to our local economy.

Let’s start with a simple example:

Imagine I buy a chicken from my neighbor for $10. Later that year, that neighbor bought a horse from me for $10,000. That means, technically, I had a $9,990 trade deficit with my neighbor for most of the year.

Should I panic? Should I impose tariffs on chickens? Should I accuse my neighbor of being “unfair”? Of course not.

We each had something the other person valued. We each paid what we thought was a fair price. And in the end, our transactions left both of us better off. That’s how trade works - whether in Eagle County or across oceans.

A trade deficit simply means we are buying more from other countries than we are selling to them. In the case of the United States, we often run trade deficits because we are a wealthy country with high consumer demand — we buy a lot of stuff. That’s not a weakness; that’s a reflection of prosperity.

Eagle County is no different.

We “import” a lot of goods (everything from avocados to ski gear to construction materials) because we don’t manufacture much here. But we “export” lifestyle, recreation, real estate, tourism, and access to public lands. Our economy hums because people want what we have — and we want what they have. It’s not a zero-sum game. It’s a healthy, functioning economy in which both locals and visitors benefit. The same holds true on a national level.

When politicians talk tough about trade wars by imposing tariffs, restricting imports, or “bringing manufacturing back”, it sounds good on a campaign stage. But those policies ripple down to places like Eagle County.

Tariffs on goods from abroad raise prices for local businesses and consumers. Contractors pay more for building materials. Restaurants pay more for food. Outdoor retailers pay more for gear. And ultimately, local residents pay more for everything.

That’s inflationary. That’s bad for working families. That’s bad for our tourism economy, which relies on (relative) affordability and global supply chains.

Trade wars also invite retaliation. When the U.S. slaps tariffs on foreign goods, other countries often respond by taxing American products like beef, whiskey, and agricultural goods. That hurts Colorado ranchers and farmers. That hurts the shipping and logistics industries. It hurts the very people politicians claim to protect.

I’m a Chamber of Commerce guy. I’m for free enterprise, entrepreneurship, and smart economic policy. The reality is: that trade deficits are not a scoreboard of winning or losing. They’re simply a reflection of the flow of goods and services in a complex, global economy.

What matters for Eagle County is whether businesses can thrive, whether consumers can afford goods, and whether our region remains connected to the world and visitors want to come to spend their money here with our local businesses.

Trade wars don’t help us do that. They hurt us.

So next time someone tells you we need a trade war to fix a trade deficit, remember the chicken and the horse.

Chris Romer is president & CEO of Vail Valley Partnership, 3-time national chamber of the year. Learn more at VailValleyPartnership.com