"Our Service Economy Is Thriving in the Worldwide Marketplace "

March 20 , 2007

Mr. Speaker, last week I spoke here about the value of our service economy.  Accounting for nearly 80% of both our workforce and private-sector Gross Domestic Product, services form the backbone of our economy.  These industries are thriving in the worldwide marketplace and are a major source of our global competitiveness.  Our annual exports in services are approaching $400 billion, and we have long had a trade surplus in this sector.

One such sector is the motion picture and television production industry.  This industry is a thriving economic engine – creating well-paying jobs and economic benefits to communities across America.  With filming in 44 states, the motion picture and television production industry generates more than 1.3 million American jobs, $30.24 billion in wages to American workers, and $30.2 billion in revenue every year.  It is very competitive internationally, with a $9.5 billion trade surplus.  And it is the only industry in which we have a trade surplus with every one of our trading partners. 

Motion pictures and television production create jobs in a wide range of fields – from the highly technical to the highly creative.  But one thing they have in common is that they are largely based on the knowledge economy that provides the foundation of both our economic well being and our comparative advantage in the global economy. 

Another major services sector is the express delivery industry.  This is an industry that is not only thriving in the global economy, it is helping to make it possible.  In a world where just-in-time delivery is essential to doing business; where U.S. companies large and small can get raw materials from Chile, make products in Michigan and sell to consumers in Korea; express delivery is an integral part of the economy.  Goods transported by air account for only 3% by weight of all goods traded globally, but about 40% by value.  U.S. companies that ship worldwide are helping to grow our economy as they facilitate the interconnectedness of the world’s producers and consumers. 

For example, every time UPS adds 40 new international packages into its system, it creates a new job here in the U.S.  Every day, UPS carries 8 % of U.S. GDP – and 3 % of global GDP – in its system.  By tapping into the ever-growing need to ship worldwide, express delivery companies create new jobs here at home, facilitate economic growth around the globe, and demonstrate that U.S. service companies are thriving in the worldwide marketplace. 

The telecommunications industry is yet another example of American businesses that are both tapping into and facilitating a shrinking world that brings a globe-full of benefits and opportunities right to our doorstep.  U.S. telecom companies are extremely competitive in the global economy, with international revenues rising more than 12% in the last year.  2006 was the third year in a row with double-digit growth in international revenue.  The global telecom market is projected to reach $4.3 trillion by 2010—$1.2 trillion in the U.S., but $3.0 trillion internationally. 

Clearly, the competitiveness of the U.S. industry depends upon worldwide economic engagement.  At the same time, these services are making the world more and more connected, enabling producers, consumers and investors to communicate quickly and easily with every corner of the globe.  And as we’ve seen, our service providers thrive on this increased connectedness.  As global leaders, they are constantly creating new opportunities, here at home and around the globe, as they grow our economy and make the worldwide marketplace more and more accessible for everyone.  And they have done so at a time when worldwide economic liberalization in services has been very limited. 

I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to continue on a path of greater economic freedom, so that our service industries – the backbone of our economy – can achieve greater and greater success in the global marketplace.