Rob Schaap wrote:
>Am I not right in saying more than half of US
>exports may usefully and accurately be characterised as 'information'?
Heavens no. I've heard this - and I've also heard people like Mark Crispin
Miller say that entertainment is the US's biggest export. Where do these
things come from?
You can say lots of goods exports have high info content - chemicals,
pharmaceuticals, electronics, etc., or the Census Bureau's composite
"advanced technology exports." But the info is still embodied in unique,
costly manufactured products that aren't the least like software or movies
(which are infinitely and near-costlessly reproducible). Royalties/license
fees include some high-IP products - the sort that the SIIA and MPAA get
exercised over - but they're under 4% of U.S. exports, less than "food,
feeds, and beverages."
Doug
----
STRUCTURE OF US EXPORTS, 1998
share of
$m total
TOTAL GOODS & SERVICES 943,237 100.0%
GOODS
Total (Census basis) 682,977 72.4%
Foods, feeds, and beverages 46,379 4.9%
Industrial supplies and materials 147,914 15.7%
Chemicals-organic 13,100 1.4%
Other industrial supplies 12,309 1.3%
Plastic materials 11,662 1.2%
Chemicals-other 11,267 1.2%
Newsprint 8,540 0.9%
Capital goods, except automotive 299,484 31.8%
Semiconductors 37,642 4.0%
Computer accessories 35,364 3.7%
Civilian aircraft 31,815 3.4%
Telecommunications equipment 24,984 2.6%
Electric apparatus 20,738 2.2%
Industrial machines, other 18,924 2.0%
Measuring, testing, control instru 12,511 1.3%
Medicinal equipment 11,914 1.3%
Parts-civilian aircraft 11,770 1.2%
Industrial engines 11,608 1.2%
Engines-civilian aircraft 9,966 1.1%
Computers 9,955 1.1%
Drilling & oilfield equipment 8,144 0.9%
Generators, accessories 6,542 0.7%
Metalworking machine tools 6,278 0.7%
Photo, service industry machinery 5,767 0.6%
Excavating machinery 5,614 0.6%
Auto, vehicles, parts and engines 72,696 7.7%
Consumer goods 79,502 8.4%
Pharmaceutical preparations 10,729 1.1%
Apparel, household goods - textile 9,181 1.0%
Toys/games/sporting goods 6,083 0.6%
Household appliances 5,275 0.6%
Other household goods 5,252 0.6%
Tobacco, manufactured 4,844 0.5%
Writing and art supplies 4,454 0.5%
Books, printed matter 4,083 0.4%
Records, tapes, and disks 3,746 0.4%
TV's, VCR's, etc. 3,549 0.4%
Toiletries and cosmetics 3,380 0.4%
Other goods 37,001 3.9%
memo:
"advanced technology" products* 186,552 19.8%
SERVICES
total 260,260 27.6%
travel 70,854 7.5%
passenger fares 19,986 2.1%
other transportation 25,818 2.7%
royalties/license fees 34,827 3.7%
other private services 91,024 9.7%
military sales 16,968 1.8%
U.S. government miscellaneous 783 0.1%
------
[official definition]
*About 500 of some 22,000 commodity classification codes used in reporting
U.S. merchandise trade are identified as "advanced technology" codes and
they meet the following criteria:
1. The code contains products whose technology is from a recognized high
technology field (e.g., biotechnology).
2. These products represent leading edge technology in that field.
3. Such products constitute a significant part of all items covered in the
selected classification code.
The aggregation of the goods results in a measure of advanced technology
trade which appears in Exhibit 16. This product and commodity-based measure
of advanced technology differs from broader SIC industry-based measures
which include all goods produced by a particular industry group, regardless
of the level of technology embodied in the goods.
===============
[raw info at
<http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/Press-Release/98_press_releases/December/>]
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