ITA
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Services Ana Guevara on Services in Global
Trade
On November 30th, Ana Guevara, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Services, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, gave a solid off-the-record overview of the scope of services in international trade. Transportation, legal, financial, construction and educational services, among others, make up 54% of GDP in developing countries and represents the fastest growing sector. In the United States, services make up 8 out of ten jobs and services create more new jobs than any other industry - including 40 million jobs in the past decade.
The ITA role represented by Guevara is to expand market opportunities, enhance US competitiveness, and identify trade market barriers. Trade negotiations are a key aspect of these efforts, as Guevara emphasized the importance of trade in raising living standards in developing countries. Ms. Guevara went on to describe the work her office does with the Export/Import bank to assist in the export of US services and products, coordinating financial policy proposals and providing analysis of financial proposals.
Some of the projects discussed included a US/Brazil commercial dialogue to improve: trade facilitation, obtaining visas, franchising, gathering statistics and venture capital investments. An initiative to educate Chinese students regarding the value of United States educational facilities was also discussed.