Technology trade

The Center for American Progress has released a new report early this week -- Our Nation's Surprising Technology Trade Deficit:

A snapshot of global trade statistics in advanced technology products since 2002 reveals that U.S. economic competitiveness in innovation may be slipping away. Surprisingly, the United States has recorded a deficit in high-technology products over the past five years. By the end of 2007, our nation’s high-tech deficit reached new record highs, measured either in absolute terms or as a share of the overall trade deficit.

This isn't new news to those who have been following trade. As I've noted in every posting on the intangibles trade, "The last monthly surplus in Advanced Technology Products was in June 2002 and the last sustained series of monthly surpluses were in the first half of 2001."

The report comes to the conclusion that we need an innovation policy:

A larger and more deep-seated problem, however, has been the dramatic difference between U.S. innovation policies and those of our global competitors. As other countries have been investing in innovation to create a skilled workforce and encourage more research and development, the United States has, by and large, neglected to make innovation a policy priority. The U.S. high-tech trade deficit finds its roots in the negligence of our innovation policy and requires a strong policy response.

I would second that recommendation.