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Global Trade is Critical to the US High-Tech Industry

According to the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), the U.S. high-tech industry is the single largest merchandise exporter in the nation, totaling $191 billion last year, increasing by $20 billion from 2003. In general, approximately 60 percent of the US IT industry’s revenue comes from overseas and continued and expanded global market access opportunities are therefore imperative to maintaining economic growth, job creation and US competitiveness in the high-tech sector. 

Additionally, IT services and software now account for two-thirds of the worldwide IT market. IT services and software sectors of the global IT industry have grown at a compound annual growth rate of 11.2 percent since 1996, compared to only 2.7% for the hardware sector. The services sector has grown steadily over the past 10 years reaching $338 billion in 2004, and the US currently enjoys a $50 billion surplus in services trade.

Growth opportunities for US businesses lie outside our borders.  Economic growth in 15 countries was estimated to be over 10 percent in 2006.  Over one hundred countries experienced growth of over 5 percent in the same time period, while the US is estimated to have grown at a comfortable 3.4 percent.  If American companies are going to be able to compete globally, and keep providing jobs for Americans, they will need to be able to export to fast growing international markets through free trade agreements.

Here is an example of how past trade liberalization has benefited the U.S. high-tech industry:

• The WTO Information Technology Agreement (ITA) —The ITA has been one of the WTO’s most successful agreements, lowering tariffs on IT products in 69 countries, contributing to rapid growth in the ICT sector, and fueling the expansion of both developed and developing economies. The agreement has eliminated all tariffs on most IT products, lowering the costs of those products in developing countries, improving education and training, and encouraging high-tech growth across the world.

Moving the U.S. High-Tech Industry Forward with Trade

On behalf of the U.S. high-tech industry, the Trade for America Coalition will continue to work with Congress this year to:

• Eliminate trade barriers on a wide range of IT, telecom and media products through the World Trade Organization;

• Ensure that the Information Technology Agreement is enforced and keeps pace with innovation and expands in both new membership and additional product coverage;

• Expand the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program to include service workers in order to reflect today’s innovation economy and help the American workforce better cope with global trade; and

• Support the renewal of TPA to open global markets and increase American innovation and growth in the high technology sector.

For more information about ITI, please go to http://www.itic.org/

 

 

 

 

 

 

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