Can I be bankrupted by an ill-timed import?
Solution 1:
No. You can't borrow to buy.
As long as you run a surplus budget, you cannot bankrupt. You can only go bankrupt by running out of city funds at the same time as you have a deficit budget.
If bankruptcy happens, the game pauses while you do (some combination of) three things:
- Turn off services (attempting to return to surplus budget)
- Take out a bond (restoring city funds but putting you further into deficit budget)
- Abandon city
Since the game is paused, you cannot receive aid from other cities in the region.
Once you end the bankruptcy, the game unpauses and you can get regional aid at that time.
Solution 2:
It seems that the game does not attempt to sell things to you if you do not have the cash: it will only send trucks filled with resources you can afford at the time, and should you drop below that amount before they get to the trade building they will turn around and leave. Therefore, you cannot go into the bankruptcy state via importing.