In the U.S., trade is an important engine of economic growth because it creates new markets, new customers, and new sales outside of the domestic market. U.S. exports have been responsible for one-third of the U.S. economy's growth over the last 10 years. Over the last decade, exports have been essential to economic growth. The U.S. is the world's largest exporter.
Trade creates and maintains American jobs.
In 1994, U.S. exports of goods and services supported 10.3 million U.S. jobs, more than ten percent of private industry employment. The number of U.S. jobs supported by exports continues to grow, demonstrating our economy's growing reliance on open markets. Jobs directly created by goods exports pay an average of 20 percent more. Manufacturing plants and companies that export are more stable than non-exporters. Between 1987 and 1992, exporting plants were 9 percent less likely to close down than comparable non-exporting plants.