The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that Donald Trump started his second presidential term with an executive order tasking his administration to investigate America's "large and persistent" annual trade deficits and to come up with potential remedies. The Globe's Mark Rendell writes that Mr. Trump believes that if a country imports more than it exports, it must be getting ripped off. Economists generally take a dim view of that, seeing persistent U.S. trade deficits as a product of the country's strong growth, large government deficits and a strong U.S. dollar. Oil and gas shipments provide a secure supply of low-cost energy to American refineries, businesses and consumers, something particularly important given Mr. Trump's emphasis on lowering consumer prices. "Remove Canadian energy exports from the equation and the trade story flips. Ex-energy, the U.S. enjoys a trade surplus with Canada of around $60-billion," TD Bank economists Marc Ercolao and Andrew Foran said in a note Tuesday. "Americans are receiving value for the dollars spent in the form of goods and services. The trade deficit the U.S. runs with Canada reflects their economic outperformance and above-average spending of Americans."