> Perpetual trade deficit is modern system of tribute
Probably not. Equatorial Guinea, Palau and Kyrgyzstan run the largest current-account deficits as fractions of GDP [1]. (Current account counts goods and services.)
Resource extraction... High value infra projects in, low value unprocessed resource out.
Edit: Palau is the exception, it's main industry is tourism. Wealthy westerners come and consume and leave. Palau doesn't produce anything so all that consumption must be imported.
US current accounts deficit ~1 trillion annually, greater than your counterexamples' total combined economies. This should be a clue it's not the same mechanism of action.
