"Annual Deficits Continue for U.S. Trade in Advanced Technology Products"

Read the full InfoBrief from the National Science Foundation.

Lead: "During much of the 1990s, U.S. trade in advanced technology products produced consistent trade surpluses for the United States and stood in stark contrast to the steadily growing annual trade deficits from U.S. trade in general merchandise (figure 1). But beginning in 2001 and coinciding with the end of the dot-com boom, the trade balance for U.S. technology products began to erode.[1] By 2002, U.S. imports of advanced technology products exceeded exports, resulting in the first U.S. trade deficit in this market segment. The technology product trade deficit has continued each year since then, standing at $38.3 billion in 2006 after reaching a high of $44.4 billion in 2005 (figure 1 and table 1). The deficits in this market segment reflect the growing imbalance of U.S. trade with Asia and especially with China.?