With 95 percent of the world’s population beyond our borders, America must look abroad to expand markets and continue to grow our economy. Worldwide trade liberalization holds the key, promising the surest path to future US economic growth and security. Trade policies and agreements are constantly under negotiation and frequently the subject of debate in the US Congress. Business Roundtable has developed The Language of Trade to help improve understanding of what can often be a complex topic.

Introduction from the book, January 2007:

With more than 25 percent of U.S. GDP represented by international trade and investment, and nearly one-in-five U.S. jobs supported by trade, the international marketplace is more important to our nation’s economy than ever before.

But the language of trade is often complex and sometimes misleading. To foster understanding, Business Roundtable has developed The Language of Trade, a handy reference guide designed to facilitate the work that must be done to achieve the following critical goals:

• Maximize the benefits of the WTO for U.S. business, farmers, workers and consumers;
• Craft U.S. trade agreements that work best for America;
• Reduce burdensome foreign regulatory barriers to U.S. exports;
• Close gaps in investment protection and international tax treatment; and
• Help bring the benefits of liberalized trade and investment to the world’s poor.

If you need additional copies or want to know more about trade and other Business Roundtable resources, visit: trade.businessroundtable.org.

Sincerely,
Jim Owens
Chairman & CEO, Caterpillar Inc.
Chairman, Business Roundtable International
Trade & Investment Task Force

Download The Language of Trade

PDF format, 472KB, 76Pages.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Trade Liberalization Timeline
To help put the recent history of global trade policy in context and illustrate the enormous impact trade liberalization has had on worldwide economic growth.

Commonly Used Acronyms
Even the experts can get confused with the plethora of organizations and acronyms that come up in day-to-day discussion of international trade and investment policy.

Glossary of Terms
A handy reference guide that makes even the most complex document or discussion understandable.

Visit The Language of Trade Official Website

Business Roundtable (www.businessroundtable.org) is an association of chief executive officers of leading U.S. companies with $4.5 trillion in annual revenues and more than 10 million employees. Member companies comprise nearly a third of the total value of the U.S. stock market and represent over 40 percent of all corporate income taxes paid to the federal government. Collectively, they returned more than $112 billion in dividends to shareholders and the economy in 2005.

Roundtable companies give more than $7 billion a year in combined charitable contributions, representing nearly 60 percent of total corporate giving.They are technology innovation leaders, with $90 billion in annual research and development spending – nearly half of the total private R&D spending in the U.S.

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