Is the balance of trade debt a part of a country's external debt?

Question

Is the balance of trade debt a part of a country's external debt?

Answer 1

The balance of trade deficit is not a debt. One has to pay for the imports at once, else, it won't be sold.

When a country's exports are less than its imports, it just means the counry is consuming more, more than it can produce for the world market. The government does not pay for all the imports (it only pays for what it ordered from another country, for example, new computers from Japan for some government offices), individual businessmen and corporations do pay for the bulk. A country's external debt is a deficit in the total government spending in a year compared to the revenues the country get from the taxes, investments, etc.