Report: U.S. loses market share in China despite export growth

   U.S. exports to China are growing, despite a $295 billion trade deficit with the Asian manufacturing power, according to a new report by the U.S.-China Business Council breaks down that growth by congressional district.
   But the report also shows that the U.S. is losing ground to other countries in terms of market share in China.
   Exports of U.S. goods and services have taken off since 2009, reaching $104 billion last year. In the past decade, U.S. exports to China have grown 542 percent, versus 80 percent for the rest of the world. China is now the third largest export market for the United States, although the growth of exports is largely due to the fact that many other markets are mature, while China’s market has gradually opened to U.S. companies in recent years.
   Out of 435 congressional districts, 420 had higher growth in exports to China in 2011 than they did to other markets around the globe, the report said. 
   Washington state had six of the top 15 export districts to China, topped by the 4th district in central Washington at $3.3 billion. The district is a strong producer of agricultural products, minerals and ores, and primary metal manufacturing.
   Three Louisiana districts were in the top 15 in exports to China by value, including the 5th district at $3.1 billion. Agricultural products, chemicals, waste and scrap are the top exports from the 5th district.
   The report is intended to show Congress that China, which is often portrayed as a bogeyman behind U.S. economic problems because of the influx of cheap imports and government support for exporters, is a valuable trading partner and that export gains are felt throughout the country.
   “Exports to China contribute to America’s economic recovery and support good jobs for American workers,” USCBC Vice President Erin Ennis said in a statement.
   The nearly $88 billion increase in exports to China during the 2000-2011 period exceeded the increase to every other market for U.S. goods and farm products, with the exception of Canada. U.S. exports to Canada increased $102 billion over the same period, while U.S. exports to Mexico rose $86 billion. Brazil was a distant fourth, with just a $28 billion increase in purchases of U.S. products.
  “Contrary to conventional wisdom, congressional districts in states as diverse as Colorado, Nevada, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin also benefited from rapidly increasing exports to China — including exports of manufactured goods such as electrical equipment, machinery, computers and electronics, transportation equipment, and other high-end products,” Ennis said.
   The U.S.-China Business Council noted that China is the only export market that is exceeding the 15 percent annual growth required to meet the Obama administration’s goal of doubling exports by 2015.
   Despite the increase in U.S. exports to China, America’s share of imports in that country has fallen to 7 percent, from 10 percent in 2000, as competition from other countries increases, the USCBC said.
   It said Obama’s National Export Initiative should also set a goal to reclaim a 10 percent share of China’s imports by the end of 2014. The trade advocacy group called for the Foreign Commercial Service within the Commerce Department to step up efforts to assist small and medium exporters find potential buyers in China, and for the Export-Import Bank to make support of U.S. exports to China its top priority. The U.S. Trade Representative’s office needs to reduce market access barriers to China, something the Obama administration has taken strong credit for the past couple of years.  —  Eric Kulisch