They claim that the country’s overall trade deficit — the sum of the U.S. trade balance with all countries — represents economic weakness and a national-security threat. But what can bilateral trade deficits and the country’s overall trade deficit tell us about trading relations and the health of the U.S. economy? Here are some facts:

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday that would have new tariffs on a wide swath of U.S. trading partners to go into effect in seven days — the next step in his trade agenda that will test the global economy and alliances.