From today's Economist, Greg Ip writes:
America's economic transformation will require businesses to rely less on selling to Americans and more on selling abroad.... The emphasis will be on high-value products and services rather than on labour-intensive items such as furniture and clothing.
One interesting point:
... between 1993 and 2003 [t]he increase in any given year came almost entirely from existing exporters, but over time new ones played an increasing part. For example, in 1993 alone firms exporting existing products to existing markets accounted for 91% of total export growth. But over the entire ten-year period they made up a relatively modest 35% of the total, with new firms contributing 24% and firms with new products or entering new markets as much as 42%. http://www.economist.com/specialreports/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15793128
