Maryland’s Tech Exports Up $134 Million in 2007 Bubble Burst
17 Percent of Exports from Maryland Are High Tech

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.

High-tech exports from Maryland totaled $1.5 billion in 2007, an increase of $134 million, or 10 percent from last year. About 40 percent of these exports, or $589 million, were communications equipment. Industrial electronics accounted for more than one fourth of all high-tech exports – $397 million.

“High tech plays a vital role in Maryland’s economy,” said Matthew Kazmierczak, AeA’s Senior Vice President, Operations. “Seventeen percent of the state’s exports are high tech goods. These exports support 6,700 jobs in the state. We cannot understate the importance of continued technology export growth to the health of our state economy. It is the duty of policymakers in Washington, DC to ensure access to new foreign markets. We are disappointed that the Doha Round of talks in the World Trade Organization collapsed and that trade agreements with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea have yet to be passed.”

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 Maryland?

• $1.5 billion in high-tech exports (28th ranked cyberstate)
   
• Up $134 million in tech exports between 2006 and 2007
   
• 17 percent of exports from Maryland are tech exports (19th ranked cyberstate)
   
• 6,700 jobs in Maryland are supported by tech exports

Maryland’s Leading Tech Export Destinations:

• $155 million in tech exports to Belgium
   
• $130 million in tech exports to Canada
   
• $100 million in tech exports to Egypt

Maryland’s Leading Tech Export Sectors:

• 11th in communications equipment exports at $589 million
   
• 24th in industrial electronics exports at $397 million
   
• 26th in semiconductor exports at $182 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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