This cries out for sarcasm
U.S. Tech Exports Slide, but Trash Sales Are Up
WHO says the United States cannot compete? Trade statistics may indicate the country is slipping in technology, but we're still tops in trash.
In the late 1990's, those who counseled Americans not to be worried about the growing trade deficit pointed to "advanced technology products" - a category tracked by the government that reflects what it calls leading-edge technologies. The United States was running a sizable trade surplus in that area, and shipments of those products were rising much more rapidly than other exports.
All that has changed. In November, the United States had a record trade deficit of $5.8 billion in advanced technology products. For the most recent 12 months, the deficit was $36.9 billion, also a record.
And where is the strength? The trade surplus in what the government calls "scrap and waste" is rising. The 12-month total of $8.4 billion in such exports is up 31 percent from a year earlier.
"What is effectively rubbish," said John Lonski, the chief economist of Moody's, "serves as one of the U.S.'s fastest-growing export categories."
