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To Do: Create a Traded-Sector Analysis Unit Within the Federal Government

To Do: Create a Traded-Sector Analysis Unit Within the Federal Government
Knowledge Base Article in: Tech Policy To-Do List
Last Updated: February 7, 2025

Recommendation

Congress should mandate the creation of a traded-sector analysis unit within the federal government.

Details

No federal entity is responsible for competitiveness analysis. Statistical agencies see their jobs as accumulating facts, not analyzing them. Treasury, the Federal Reserve Bank, and other agencies are focused on the business cycle, not on competitiveness. Other economic agencies focus on implementation. Thus, there is shockingly little understanding of where the United States is and is not competitive globally. So, Congress should task the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) with creating a new traded-sector analysis unit that prioritizes interpretation and analysis. It should assess key indicators of overall U.S. competitiveness performance—such as foreign direct investment, jobs, output, and market share—and develop strategic policy roadmaps for key traded sectors.

Keep reading:

Stephen Ezell and Robert D. Atkinson, “Fifty Ways to Leave Your Competitiveness Woes Behind: A National Traded Sector Competitiveness Strategy” (ITIF, September 2012), https://itif.org/publications/2012/09/20/fifty-ways-leave-your-competitiveness-woes-behind-national-traded-sector.

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