(Washington, D.C.)-Exporting is a major source of job creation, revenue and above average-paying employment in the United States. This is the overwhelming conclusion of an analysis of 71 Trade Impact Studies scheduled for release on November 30 by The Business Roundtable (BRT) in a series of events across the country. The reports are based on an in-depth analysis of trade on Congressional Districts throughout the United States

"More than $102 billion worth of goods were exported by literally thousands of businesses in these districts," said Robert N. Burt, Chairman of The Business Roundtable. "Our analysis also shows that approximately 575,000 jobs in these 71 Congressional Districts owe their direct existence to trade. Beyond the statistics, what is significant is that the reports identified the very real human faces behind these exports - workers and farmers who have benefited from the worlds of opportunity created by trade," added Burt, who is also Chairman and CEO of FMC Corporation. The release of these reports comes on the heels of the landmark trade agreement reached between the United States and China just two weeks ago.

The reports will be released in a series of events across the country. Participants in these events will include Members of Congress, local elected officials, academics and hundreds of individuals directly involved in exporting. "We are sending a signal that trade works for America," said Burt. "From a small farm in Iowa, to a computer chip maker in California to a manufacturing facility in New Hampshire, this diverse group of American workers are united by the fact that they have found opportunities in trade." The timing of the events and release of the reports coincides with the World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle of the world's trade ministers to plan a global trade agenda for the next decade.

These reports - and the entire issue of trade - take on an added importance in light of the U.S.-China trade agreement and the WTO meeting. The agreement to bring China into the World Trade Organization opens up the world's largest emerging marketplace to American goods and services. For the United States to reap the full benefits of this market-opening agreement, Congress must now act with dispatch to grant China the same Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) status the United States has granted to more than 100 other nations.

Each of the reports features an in-depth analysis of the impact of trade on jobs, industry sectors, average wages, destination of products and companies involved in exporting. Global Trade Information Services, Inc. and Standard & Poor's prepared the reports based on studies of private and governmental data bases, questionnaires and personal interviews with businesses.

Throughout the reports, "Spotlight on Trade" sidebars highlight individual companies that trade overseas. The reports also feature appendices that catalog some 14,000 businesses in the United States that are involved in exporting.

"A significant finding from these reports is that smaller sized businesses are getting involved in exporting in a big way," added Burt. "It is exhilarating to see how American ingenuity shines in exporting. We've identified skateboard makers, artists, manufacturers of nautical equipment and many, many others who are growing their enterprises through trade."