And free-trade areas, led by the European Union and NAFTA, have increased from 1 in 1958 to 161 in 2003. Transportation and communication costs have also fallen over time. Despite all this progress, significant barriers to trade still exist. Policy barriers such as tariffs, quotas, and licensing restrictions are especially important in the areas of agriculture and services.
The composition of our exports is also a far cry from the largely agrarian economy of the 1950s.