Changes

Mercantilism was a policy for a nation to increase its wealth based on exporting more goods to other nations and territories than importing from them.  An excess of exports over imports increased the balance of trade and the acquisition of gold by the nation.  Also, acquiring and using colonies to supply raw materials and provide foreign markets was a key aspect of mercantilism. Mercantilism was the [[United Kingdom|British]] policy at the time of the [[American Revolution]]. For this reason, the [[United States]] has always rejected mercantilism, choosing instead to run enormous [[trade deficit|trade deficits]].

Mercantilism was a policy for a nation to increase its wealth based on exporting more goods to other nations and territories than importing from them.  An excess of exports over imports increased the balance of trade and the acquisition of gold by the nation.  Also, acquiring and using colonies to supply raw materials and provide foreign markets was a key aspect of mercantilism. Mercantilism was the [[United Kingdom|British]] policy at the time of the [[American Revolution]]. For this reason, the [[United States]] has always rejected mercantilism, especially since the United States has historically been a net exporter, although since the 1970's enormous [[trade deficit|trade deficits]] have been run.