This document outlines 10 overlooked facts about international trade for the United States: 1) 80% of economic growth comes from outside U.S. borders; 2) U.S. exports have doubled in 20 years and support 1 in 4 manufacturing jobs; 3) 1 in 3 acres on American farms is planted for export. The U.S. has a trade surplus with its 20 free trade agreement partners in manufactures, services, and agriculture. Trade supports over 40 million U.S. jobs, with FTAs sustaining over 5 million of those jobs. 98% of exporting companies are small- and medium-sized businesses, accounting for over 1/3 of U.S. merchandise exports.

1. INTERNATIONAL TRADE
FACTS ABOUT
OVERLOOKED

2. Top 10 Overlooked Facts AboutTrade
80% 92% 95%
Outside our borders are markets that represent
of the
ECONOMIC
GROWTH
of its
CONSUMERS
THE POSSIBILITIESARE ENDLESS.
of the WORLD’S
PURCHASING
POWER
1

3. Top 10 Overlooked Facts AboutTrade
U.S. factories have nearly doubled their outputin the past two
decades and last year generated $1.3 trillionin exports.
ONE IN FOUR
manufacturing jobs depends on exports.
2

4. Top 10 Overlooked Facts AboutTrade
3
on American farms is planted for export. U.S. farmers
and ranchers are the world’s most productive and top
the global export rankings for a host of commodities.
ONE INTHREEACRES

5. Top 10 Overlooked Facts AboutTrade
4
U.S.SERVICESEXPORTStop $700 billion dollars annually, with a trade
surplus of more than $200 billion.
The United States is home to large numbers of world beating
services firms in such sectors as audiovisual, banking,
energy services, express delivery, information
technology, insurance, and telecom.

6. Top 10 Overlooked Facts AboutTrade
5
While they represent just 6% of the world’s population,
America’s free trade agreement (FTA) partners buy
nearly half of U.S. exports.
In other words, FTAs can make
big markets even out of small economies.

7. Top 10 Overlooked Facts AboutTrade
6
The United States has a
TRADE SURPLUSwith its 20 FTA partners—in manufactures, services,
and agricultural products. If you’re worried about the
trade deficit, FTAs are the solution—not the problem.
FreeTradeAgreement
FreeTradeAgreement
FreeTradeAgreement
TRADE manufactures
MANUFACTURES
manufactures
MANUFACTURES
MANUFACTURES
MANUFACTURES
SERVICES
SERVICES
SERVICES
SERVICES
SERVICES
Agricultural Products
Agricultural Products
SOLUTION
AGRICULTURALPRODUCTS
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS
Export
Export
EXPORT
EXPORT
EXPORT
Import
import
IMPORT
Import
IMPORT
Import
Import
TRADE
TRADE
TRADE
TRADE
Trade
Trade
TRADE
TRADE
manufactures
manufactures
Agricultural Products
EXPORT
Import
Import
SOLUTION
SOLUTION
SOLUTION
SOLUTION
SOLUTION
SOLUTION
SERVICES
SERVICES
Import
TRADE
Free Trade Agreement
SOLUTION

8. Top 10 Overlooked Facts AboutTrade
7
Imports mean lower prices and more choices for American
families as they try to stretch their budgets and for companies
seeking raw materials and other inputs. Access to imports boosts
the purchasing power of the average American household by
about $10,000 annually.

9. Top 10 Overlooked Facts AboutTrade
8
40JOBSin the United States—more than one
in five American jobs. The expansion
in trade spurred by U.S. FTAs sustains
more than five million of those jobs.
Trade supports
MILLION

10. Top 10 Overlooked Facts AboutTrade
9
98% of the
304,000 U.S. companiesthat
export their products are small and medium-sized companies.
While large companies account for a majority of exports,
small and medium-sized companies account for more than
one-third of all U.S. merchandise exports.

11. Top 10 Overlooked Facts AboutTrade
10
U.S. exports of goods and services reached nearly
$2.23 trillion in 2015.
In other words, American workers, farmers and
companies can compete and win in the world economy.

12. References
All data from the U.S. Department of Commerce, except:
1. IMF and World Bank.
2. U.S. Department of Commerce; UNIDO.
3. U.S. Department of Agriculture.
7. Peterson Institute for International Economics.
8. Studies by Trade Partnership Worldwide, LLC, for
Business Roundtable and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

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