District of Columbia Exports $88 Million of High-Tech Goods in 2007
Communications Equipment Remains the District’s Strongest Export Tech Sector

Washington, DC (September 23, 2008) – AeA, the nation’s largest technology trade association representing all segments of the high-tech industry, today released its annual report detailing national and state trends in the international trade of high-tech goods. The report, Trade in the Cyberstates 2008: A State-by-State Overview of High-Tech International Trade, covers all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

The District of Columbia exported $88 million in 2007, a slight decrease of $4 million from the previous year. The United Kingdom was the largest export destination for the District’s tech products, receiving $31.8 million of tech exports in 2007, over a third of the District’s total tech exports. The largest tech export sector was communications equipment at $39 million.

“High-tech exports are an important part of the District’s economy,” said Matthew Kazmierczak, AeA’s Senior Vice President, Operations. “Unfortunately, they are significantly down from a height of $171 million in 2004. DC officials need to pursue business friendly policies to attract production to the District, including maintaining modern infrastructure. And leaders in Congress and the Administration need to continue the long-held American tradition of encouraging foreign countries to open their markets to U.S. imports.”

Nationally, Trade in the Cyberstates 2008 shows that U.S. high-tech goods exports decreased by three percent in 2007, totaling $214 billion, representing 18 percent of all U.S. exports to the world. High-tech imports totaled $333 billion in 2007, up by three percent, resulting in a high-tech trade deficit of $118 billion. High-tech exports supported 894,600 jobs in the United States.

Trade in the Cyberstates 2008 provides a comprehensive review of international trade of high-tech goods at the national and state-by-state level. The report provides overview pages for all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. These "snapshot" pages highlight historical high-tech export trends, exports by individual tech sector, and leading export destinations.

This report is a partner publication to AeA's other two annual cyber publications, Cyberstates and Cybercities, which provide data on high-tech jobs, wages, payroll, and other factors at the state and metropolitan levels.

AeA members can purchase each of these reports for $125; non-members for $250. Visit www.aeanet.org/research to purchase the reports.

What Does High-Tech Trade Mean for the District of Columbia?

• $88 million in high-tech exports (47th ranked cyberstate)
   
• Down $4 million in tech exports between 2006 and 2007
   
• 8 percent of exports from the District of Columbia are tech exports (38th ranked cyberstate)
   
• 300 jobs in the District are supported by tech exports

The District of Columbia’s Leading Tech Export Destinations:

• $31.8 million in tech exports to the United Kingdom
   
• $10.3 million in tech exports to the United Arab Emirates
   
• $4.4 million in tech exports to Japan

The District of Columbia’s Leading Tech Export Sectors:

• 35th in communications equipment exports at $39 million
   
• 43rd in computers and peripheral equipment exports at $13 million
   
• 46th in industrial electronics exports at $27 million

Source: Trade in the Cyberstates 2008

Data are for 2007.

Published by AeA, Advancing the Business of Technology (www.aeanet.org)

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About AeA

AeA, the nation’s largest technology trade association representing all segments of the high-tech industry, is dedicated solely to helping our members’ top line and bottom line. We do this in partnership with our small, medium, and large member companies by lobbying governments at the state, federal, and international levels, providing access to capital and business opportunities, and offering select business services and networking programs. For more information, please visit http://www.aeanet.org.

This page was last updated on 09/16/08.  
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