From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishtrade surplusˌtrade ˈsurplus noun [countable] technicalPE the amount by which the value of the goods that a country sells to other countries is more than the value of the goods it buys from them
Examples from the Corpus
trade surplus• Under the Conservatives, Britain has moved from manufacturing trade surplus to manufacturing trade deficit.• In fact, our trade surplus in Scotch is three times greater than our trade surplus in oil.• Such distortions lead to a persistent trade surplus and a persistently rising yen.• The trade surplus is more than $ 65 billion.From Longman Business Dictionarytrade surplusˈtrade ˌsurplus (also balance of trade surplus) [countable, uncountable]ECONOMICS a surplus related to imports and exports, rather than other paymentsWe must rebuild manufacturing so as to generate a balance of trade surplus.trade surplus withChina has enjoyed a trade surplus with Japan. → surplus 