17, 2010
OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR (NY Times)
An Order of Prosperity, to Go
"PRESIDENT OBAMA called on America to "export more of our goods" in his State of the Union address last month, setting a goal of doubling what we sell abroad in five years. Good idea, but it would have been so much better if he had said "goods and services."
Editing the president's speeches isn't my job, but the missing words suggest that the White House, like much of the rest of the country, hasn't realized that exports of services are one of America's 21st-century success stories. We still picture exports being loaded on ships or planes, but - as the accompanying chart based on Commerce Department data shows - overseas sales are today increasingly delivered in person or sent across the Internet.
Exports of American services have jumped by 84 percent since 2000, while the growth rate among goods was 66 percent. America trails both China and Germany in sales of goods abroad, but ranks No. 1 in global services by a wide margin. And while trade deficits in goods have been enormous - $840 billion in 2008 - the country runs a large and growing surplus in services: we exported $144 billion more in services than we imported, dwarfing the surpluses of $75 billion in 2000 and $58 billion in 1992.
Equally important, Commerce Department data show that the United States is a top-notch competitor in many of the high-value-added services that support well-paying jobs..."

By W. MICHAEL COX