USTR Tells Congress Talks Starting on Treaty on Trade in Services
The Obama Administration intends to begin negotiations for a new trade agreement on international trade in services, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk told Congress Jan. 15. The negotiations will be in Geneva early this year with a group of 20 trading partners who represent nearly two-thirds of global trade in services, he said, and the objective will be promoting international trade in services and supporting increased U.S. service exports and jobs. In a letter to Congress (here), Kirk said a recent study by the Peterson Institute for International Economics said the U.S. is the world's largest services trader, but tradable services are still five times less likely to be exported than manufactured products.
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"Every $1 billion in U.S. services exports supports an estimated 4,200 U.S. jobs in America," Kirk said. "If business services achieved the same export potential as manufactured goods globally, U.S. exports could increase by as much as $800 billion." The U.S. had a $178.5 billion surplus in services trade worldwide in 2011.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce immediately applauded the negotiations (here). “The International Services Agreement will be an economic boost for the U.S. and the world economy,” said Myron Brilliant, the Chamber’s senior vice president-international affairs. “It will create new markets for U.S. exporters and generate a host of business and job opportunities from coast to coast. U.S. services companies have seen trade and regulatory barriers multiply in ways that could not be foreseen two decades ago when the General Agreement on Trade in Services was negotiated. This is a chance to tackle emerging trade barriers in areas such as the digital economy while strengthening the global rules-based trading system.”
National Foreign Trade Council President Bill Reinsch (here) said a services treaty "will help to maximize the competitiveness of U.S. services companies and support U.S. job creation. With services industries accounting for four out of five American jobs and nearly 70 percent of U.S. GDP, expanding services trade through an ISA is central to U.S. economic growth."