US Needs Better Export Data to Develop National Tech Strategy, ITIF Says

The U.S. government needs better data collection on trade, industries and technologies if it wants to develop more effective policies to spur competitiveness and a national technology strategy, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation said in a July 1 report. ITIF said the government has “never felt the need” to gather “strategic economic intelligence” to evaluate its trade competitiveness, which should be a key aspect of any technology strategy. The foundation specifically said the U.S. needs more accurate trade data, especially on exports, which are “too often” listed “by the port of exit rather than the location of the firm doing the exporting.” That data should include information on more than just “final goods exports,” such as the inputs that are “feeding into the exports” and where those goods are produced. This would allow the U.S. to better map supply chains that “feed into exports.”