U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker today released the Opportunities for the U.S. Service Sector Report, the first in a series of 15 new reports designed to spotlight key market access benefits and commitments of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Pritzker announced the report during the Coalition of Service Industries’ (CSI) Global Services Summit 2015 in Washington, which brought together more than 300 senior trade officials, policy makers, and business leaders from around the world to discuss current international trade challenges and opportunities. The CSI represents the interests of the dynamic American service economy, which makes up about 69 percent of the U.S. GDP and employs over 80 percent of private sector workers.
“The Trans-Pacific Partnership strengthens our nation’s standing as the world’s leading services exporter,” Secretary Pritzker said. “The agreement will expand market access and investment opportunities for U.S. services providers in a number of key sub-sectors, including telecommunications, software licensing, retail, entertainment and film, and logistics and express delivery. With TPP, we can grow our $233.1 billion trade surplus in services and support even more high-paying American jobs.
“Our negotiators did a great job for the American people, and with these reports, our businesses and workers will understand the significant opportunities for economic growth and job creation that will result from the TPP.”
In 2013, the leading TPP markets for U.S. services exports were Canada ($63.3 billion), Japan ($46.2 billion), and Mexico ($29.9 billion). From 2011 to 2013, U.S. services exports to TPP countries increased by 6.9 percent.
The new report lists important TPP commitments that directly benefit U.S. service suppliers, including: removal of trade-distorting and unnecessary barriers that reduce the efficiency of global supply chains for U.S. retailers; new and strengthened protections and commitments for U.S. franchisors’ trademarks; and higher standards and increased transparency in licensing and qualification regulations and procedures for professional services suppliers.
The insurance sector, which employed 4 million workers in the United States in 2014, will be aided by commitments that level the playing field for insurers competing against state-owned enterprises and provide investment protections. The agreement will also restrict TPP partners from instituting market access barriers such as limits on the number of U.S. companies that can operate in a market and the total value of insurance transactions from these firms.
The telecommunications and electronic commerce sectors will benefit from a variety of new commitments. The telecommunications services chapter establishes pro-competitive regulatory policies and international best practices, and creates guidelines for non-discriminatory treatment of new entrants by major suppliers. The e-commerce chapter includes key provisions on non-discriminatory treatment of digital products, online consumer protection, electronic authentication/signatures, and principles on access to and use of the Internet.
In 2014, U.S. services exports exceeded $710 billion, and recorded a $233.1 billion surplus. Services accounted for more than 30 percent of U.S. exports last year, and supported more than 4.6 million U.S. jobs.
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