The U.S. could help restart recently stalled growth...

The U.S. could help restart recently stalled growth in trade of technology goods through the completion of Trans-Pacific Partnership and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, said TechAmerica in a report (http://bit.ly/1oYIhoV). “These new agreements could expand U.S. free trade markets to 53 countries, creating significant opportunities for U.S. technology companies,” TechAmerica said in a news release Tuesday (http://bit.ly/1ww0AD1). Tech goods exports totaled $205 billion in 2013 and imports accounted for $351 billion, the report said. Many of the tech imports are part of a global supply chain, where U.S. multinational companies create and design the products in the U.S. while producing the final product overseas, the report said. Often such imports represent “an intra-company transfer” as U.S. firms bring their products into the U.S. for sale from overseas production facilities, the study found. While both exports and imports have recovered since the recession, “the past two years have seen a slowdown in the growth rate as key overseas markets have experienced economic malaise and the economic recovery in the United States has been slow,” said TechAmerica. NAFTA partners Mexico and Canada were by far the largest destination for U.S. tech exports, accounting for $39 billion and $28 billion worth, respectively, said the group.