NAM Chief: U.S. Needs to Stimulate Exports

(Wall Street Journal – Timothy Aeppel)

The U.S. needs to stimulate exports of machinery and other manufactured goods as part of a larger effort to regain factory jobs lost in this recession, says John Engler, president of the National Association of Manufacturers.

Calculations by the nation’s largest manufacturing trade group show the U.S. ranks last among the world’s 15 largest manufacturers in terms of “export intensity.” Rather than measuring raw export numbers, export intensity gauges the proportion of the nation’s manufacturing production that is exported.

Export powerhouses Germany and Taiwan top the list. But others, including Brazil, Turkey and Spain, also exceed the U.S. in terms of the proportion of their goods that are exported.

“If we could simply get exports up to the world average – which is a little more than two times where it is – we could eliminate the trade deficit,” says Mr. Engler. The NAM favors a variety of measures, including tax relief and other support for domestic production, such as greater federal support for export promotion. Read more here.