Recent Trends in US Services Trade
Report

Recent Trends in US Services Trade

2013 Annual Report

USITC
USITC, 2013
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Editorial Rating

7

getAbstract Rating

  • Innovative
  • Background

Recommendation

This thorough report on international trade in professional services – particularly in education, health care and law – lists six US International Trade Commission employees as authors. That may account for the depth and breadth of information, as well as the disorganized writing style and repetitiveness of certain sections. The publication intrigues, though it leans so heavily on statistics that readers new to the subject might welcome more interpretation, commentary and context. Nonetheless, getAbstract recommends this report as useful background for investors, entrepreneurs and practitioners wondering how they might capitalize on emerging trends in the global trade of professional services.

Summary

Services Are an Economic Staple

With a professional services trade surplus of almost $50 billion in 2011, the United States stands as a leading exporter of educational, legal, health care and other services. Current trends point to the US’s strong and expanding position as a provider and consumer of such services. In 2011, the US was responsible for 14% of global service exports, worth $587 billion. Its service imports, somewhat lower at $393 billion, accounted for 10% of global service imports.

Combined, services made up 79% of the US’s total private sector GDP in 2011. The services that drive cross-border exchanges include travel, management, consulting, health care, legal and financial services, testing, research, construction, engineering, education, and more. In terms of importance and earnings, travel services and passenger fares – totaling 26% of exports and 28% of imports – led the US’s services exports. Construction, technical, architectural and engineering sectors also fueled US export growth, which grew 9% in 2011.

Sales of intellectual property provided the largest trade surplus, while financial services and travel services ranked second and third...

About the Author

The United States International Trade Commission is an independent investigative agency of the US government that deals with matters of trade.

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