The official trade data do not have direct measures of outsourcing of services abroad, but much of what we would consider offshoring is likely included under the heading “Business, Professional, and Technical Services,” a category of trade in services.9 In 2002, the latest year for which complete data are available, the United States exported nearly $ billion in business services.
We must remember that one domestic producer’s advantage from protectionist profits is paid for by the consumer, or shows up as another domestic producer’s cost disadvantage. Instead of targetting specific industries for governmental attention, which risks bringing back all the baggage of the Licence Permit Raj that we have left behind, let us focus on improving the conditions for growth for all.