Press Release

Secretary Gutierrez Praises Record U.S. Exports

BRASILIA, BRAZIL—U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez today issued the following statement on the release of the August 2007 U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services report by the Department’s U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Today’s report shows that U.S. exports increased by 11.6 percent to $1,054 billion year-to-date (through August) over 2006. Imports also increased 4.3 percent to $1,526 billion and the trade deficit narrowed 8.8 percent during the same time period. Gutierrez is in Brazil to co-chair the U.S.-Brazil CEO Forum with National Economic Council Director Allan Hubbard and discuss how trade, innovation and open markets foster positive social change, economic growth and opportunity. The Secretary will continue to Colombia to lead a bipartisan congressional delegation to push for approval of the Colombia Free Trade Agreement.

“Free trade agreements continue to grow markets for American exporters, creating higher paying jobs here at home. Opening markets is a central piece of President Bush’s pro-growth agenda. Total U.S. exports of goods and services last year were up 12.7 percent to $1.4 trillion, an all-time record. Our second quarter real GDP grew 3.8 percent, and exports were one of the biggest contributors to economic growth.

"This is the third consecutive month that the trade deficit has declined and over the past 12 months the decline has been $10.0 billion or 14.8 percent. Now is the time to approve pending FTAs to continue to build on this momentum. The three agreements that should be taken up now are: Peru, Colombia and Panama.

“The benefits of free trade agreements are clear. Our exports to Latin American countries with which we have an FTA are up by nearly 60 percent since 2001. As the CAFTA-DR agreements were implemented, the United States moved from a trade deficit in 2005 to a trade surplus in 2006, a trend that is continuing. Before CAFTA-DR, we had one-way trade with Central America, with their products coming in duty-free and our products subject to heavy tariffs. When the trade agreement removed barriers to American goods, we moved to a trade surplus almost immediately.

“Just as with CAFTA-DR, we now have the opportunity with the Peru, Colombia, and Panama free trade agreements to move from one-way free trade for foreign products to two-way trade that will benefit American workers and businesses. Today, more than 90 percent of imports from Peru, Panama and Colombia enter the U.S. duty free.

“With congressional approval of Peru, Colombia, Panama and Korea trade agreements, U.S. exporters to these countries would benefit from the duty-free access to countries with more than 126 million people and with a combined GDP of $1.1 trillion.

“Passage of FTAs with our trading partners promotes economic opportunity while advancing higher standards of human rights, increasing national security and fostering democratic principles throughout the world.”

Background:
U.S. goods exports to South/Central America reached a record $9.5 billion in August and are up 19.5 percent for the first eight months of the year when compared to the same period last year.

Bilateral free trade agreements are one of the best ways to open up foreign markets to U.S. exporters. Today, the United States has implemented FTAs with 14 countries. Last year, trade with countries with which the United States has FTAs was significantly greater than their relative share of the global economy. Although comprising 7.5 percent of global GDP, not including the United States, those FTA countries accounted for more than 42 percent of U.S. goods exports.

The Peru, Colombia, Panama and Korea trade agreements would level the playing field for U.S. workers and businesses. The trade agreements will give U.S. businesses duty-free access to growing markets with a combined population of approximately 126 million consumers and GDP of almost $1.1 trillion. Between 2002 and 2006, US goods exports to Peru and Colombia both grew by 87 percent equaling $9.6 billion.

The United States is Peru’s leading trading partner, accounting for 23.3 percent of Peru’s goods exports and supplying 16.4 percent of the country’s goods imports in 2006. Peru-U.S. bilateral trade in goods has more than doubled over the past decade from $3 billion in 1996 to $8.8 billion in two-way trade in 2006, due in large part to the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA).

The United States is Colombia’s leading trade partner, accounting for 39.6 percent of Colombia’s goods exports and supplying 26.5 percent of the country’s goods imports in 2006. Colombia-U.S. bilateral trade in goods has almost doubled over the past decade, from $9 billion a year in 1996 to approximately $16 billion in two-way trade in 2006, due in large part to the ATPDEA. Colombia is currently the 29th largest export market for U.S. goods.

The United States is Panama's largest trading partner, with two-way trade in goods reaching nearly $3.1 billion in 2006, an increase of 24 percent over 2005. With 2006 goods exports of $2.7 billion and goods imports of $379 million, the U.S. continued to maintain its huge trade surplus with Panama.

The United States is Korea’s third leading trading partner, accounting for 13.3 percent of Korea’s goods exports and supplying 10.9 percent of the country’s goods imports in 2006. Korea-U.S. bilateral trade in goods has increased by more than one-third in the past five years from $58.1 billion in 2002 to $78.2 billion in two-way trade in 2006.

For information, please visit http://trade.gov/fta.