For Immediate Release April 14, 2004 Contact: John Goyer (202) 289-7460 US Services Providers Continue to Dominate Sourcing Market: February Data Show Continued US Insourcing Competitiveness, Job Growth (Washington, DC) February data on US trade in goods and services released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) today show that foreign providers continue to outsource more services to the United States than Americans outsource abroad. According to the BEA data, US exports of financial, professional, business and technical services (which include banking, insurance, legal, consulting, computer and related services, engineering, and other commercial services) increased from February 2003 to February 2004 by $1.1 billion. US imports of similar services, which include foreign call centers and data entry, increased by only $0.7 billion for the same period. Overall, the US had a $5.2 billion services trade surplus for the month, which likely contributed to recent monthly job growth, the strongest in the last four years. Out of 308,000 new jobs added in March, 200,000 were created in services, including professional and business services. In 2003, US exports of financial, professional, business and technical services were $131 billion, and imports were $77 billion, resulting in a $54 billion surplus. Overall US services exports in 2003 exceeded imports by $60 billion. Trade data for February indicate that the US continues to have a competitive edge in high-value high-skilled services. Restricting outsourcing at the state and federal levels, for example, would backfire because it would increase US costs. US services outsourced abroad are an input for US goods and services exports. These improve US companies' competitive advantage when operating in foreign markets. "These data illustrate that the US gains millions of well-paid jobs from sourcing activities," said President of the Coalition of Service Industries (CSI) Robert Vastine. In 2001, US services affiliates controlled by foreign investors employed 4.1 million Americans, who earned average annual incomes of $44,950, somewhat higher than incomes in the overall US services sector. # # # # # CSI is the leading business organization dedicated to reducing barriers to U.S. services exports and mobilizing support for domestic U.S. policies, including tax policies, which enhance the global competitiveness of its members. CSI was formed in 1982 to ensure that U.S. trade in services would become a central goal of U.S. trade policy and trade negotiations. It played a major role in the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and in the advocacy effort leading to the 1997 World Trade Organization (WTO) Basic Telecommunications and Financial Services Agreements. CSI’s knowledge of the process of services trade negotiations, its ties to the WTO and its network of relationships with governments and industry in other countries are unmatched. For a complete list of CSI members, visit our website at www.uscsi.org.