On behalf of TradeCast™ and our stakeholders globally, we express our hearty felicitation with His Excellency Joe Biden, Executive President of the United States of America and her good people on this historical Independence Day.
Quick Facts:
The United States’ economic freedom score is 70.6, making its economy the 25th freest in the 2023 Index. Its score is 1.5 points lower than last year. The U.S. is ranked 3rd out of 32 countries in the Americas region, and its overall score remains above the world and regional averages.
The U.S. economy faces enormous challenges. Big-government policies have eroded limits on government, public spending continues to rise, and the regulatory burden on business has increased. Restoring the U.S. economy to the status of “free” will require significant changes to reduce the size and scope of government.
The United States has one of the world’s most dynamic economies but has been undergoing policy challenges that undermine its long-term economic competitiveness. Since assuming office in 2021, President Joseph Biden has pursued and implemented policies that have expanded the size and scope of the federal government. Unchecked deficit spending and government debt have accelerated, and inflation undercuts economic livelihood. The combination of uncertainty and poor policy choices has left the U.S. economic outlook in flux. The November 2022 election of a Republican Party majority in the House of Representatives could provide an opportunity to slow spending and debt growth.
The overall rule of law is well respected in the United States. The country’s property rights score is above the world average; its judicial effectiveness score is above the world average; and its government integrity score is above the world average.
The top individual and corporate tax rates are, respectively, 37 percent and 21 percent. The tax burden equals 25.5 percent of GDP. Three-year government spending and budget balance averages are, respectively, 41.1 percent and –10.3 percent of GDP. Public debt equals 128.1 percent of GDP.
The U.S. has a high level of business freedom, but regulations vary by state. Labor freedom is mostly high but varies from locality to locality. Massive government borrowing and the printing of money have aggravated inflation. Large deficits persist, and public debt is growing.
The trade-weighted average tariff rate is 2.3 percent, and layers of nontariff barriers add to the cost of trade. Investment freedom is hampered by ongoing interventionist, big-government policies. The financial sector, one of the world’s most developed and competitive, continues to be resilient.
Because of its size and interconnectedness, developments in the US economy are bound to have important effects around the world. The US has the world’s single largest economy, accounting for almost a quarter of global GDP (at market exchange rates), one-fifth of global FDI, and more than a third of stock market capitalisation. It is the most important export destination for one-fifth of countries around the world. The US dollar is the most widely used currency in global trade and financial transactions, and changes in US monetary policy and investor sentiment play a major role in driving global financing conditions (World Bank 2016).
At the same time, the global economy is important for the US as well. Affiliates of US multinationals operating abroad, and affiliates of foreign companies located in the US account for a large share of US output, employment, cross-border trade and financial flows, and stock market capitalisation. Recent studies have examined the importance of global growth for the US economy (Shambaugh 2016), the global impact of changes in US monetary policy (Rey 2013), or the global effect of changing US trade policies (Furman et al. 2017, Crowley et al. 2017).
Tradecast looks forward to working with stakeholders across your diverse sectors and niches to unlock vast trade and investment opportunities and in turn deepen impacts and accelerate the growth of Americans, home and abroad.
Courtesy:
Amb. Regis Uzoma (Dr. Brands)
Founder & Global Trade Ambassador
