US exports of digital and electronic services totaled $110.2 billion in 2020, according to a report from the International Trade Commission (USITC).
The amount represents 16.1% of the total cross-border exports United State And a 3% decrease in these exports compared to 2019.
Main export destinations included United kingdom (10.4%), Canada (9.3%) and Ireland (9 percent).
Conversely, US imports of electronic and digital services totaled $71.3 billion in 2020, accounting for 16.4% of total US cross-border imports and a 3.8% decrease in these imports compared to 2019.
Digital and electronic services: US cross-border exports, by country, 2020 (percentage)
The main sources of cross-border imports included India (17.9%), Canada (11.7%) and the United Kingdom (9.5%).
For the purposes of this report, the category includes digital, electronic, audio-visual, computer and information services, Telecommunications and computer programs. These service industries are closely interconnected.
For example, computer services are essential for the provision of communication services, while communication networks allow the circulation of audiovisual content.
They also increase productivity and enable trade in other industries, such as education, finance, health care, and logistics.
However, these services are traded electronically, for example when a provider in one country provides data processing services to a consumer in another country.
digital services
These US industries are highly competitive, and US companies are among the world’s leaders in technology adoption, research and development.
By facilitating the flow of data and information, companies in the digital and electronic sector provide critical infrastructure for the United States and global economies.
Digital and electronic services, the data category used by USITC for this report, comprises five categories defined by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA): communication services, information services, audio-visual services, computer services, and computer software.
In turn, the category of communications services includes the transmission or transmission of voice, images, data or other content by electronic means (but excludes the value of the content itself).
Other Categories
Information services include news agency services, database services, and Internet search services.
For its part, the audiovisual services include the production of audiovisual content (such as films, television programs and sound recordings), as well as the rights to use, reproduce and distribute said content.
Computer services consist of cloud computing, data storage, processing services, and services related to the installation and maintenance of computers.
Finally, the category of computer software includes software sales and licenses to use, reproduce, and distribute computer software (including software downloaded from the Internet or subscriptions for online access), but excludes sales of software on physical media.
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