No new markets where to expand. Since Russia got re-grouped with Putin, the Russian (and former USSR) markets started to close for US exports. Chinese had their own dynamics. The labor participation rate is at the 70-ties rate again. Go for the maiximal time period here to see the dynamics. https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/labor-force-parti... Also check who's getting all the gold recently https://tradingeconomics.com/russia/gold-reserves