Majority of Americans Support Trade, New CEA Poll Shows

Sixty-Nine Percent of Americans Say They Benefit from Trade; Young
Adults and "Twenty-Somethings" Among the Biggest Trade Supporters
ARLINGTON, Va.--(Business Wire)--
As Republicans arrive in Minneapolis for the GOP National
Convention, a new poll released today shows considerable support among
Americans for overseas trade. Fifty-eight percent of those polled said
they consider trade a good thing because it has reduced the costs of
goods such as electronics and clothing while at the same time helping
Americans to become more competitive with workers overseas. The survey
released by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)(R) was
conducted by Zogby International.

A vast majority, 69 percent, report that they personally benefit
from trade. Support for trade has particularly been drawn from the
technology and consumer electronics fields. Sixty-nine percent of
Americans called said they support overseas trade in those sectors. In
addition, 74 percent said that it was a "good thing" that overseas
trade and global manufacturing had reduced the costs of consumer
electronics goods in the United States. Fifty-seven percent said that
America would not be the economic leader it is today without overseas
trade. Only 25 percent disagreed with this statement.

"The verdict is in and the people have spoken. Now it's time for
Congress to grasp what the American people firmly understand - that
trade benefits our country," said CEA President and CEO Gary Shapiro.
"It's time for Congress to listen to the American people and not the
protectionists in the media and do what's right for our economy, which
is passage of trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea."

Particularly noteworthy from the poll is strong support among
young adults for trade. Among 18 to 24-year olds:

-- Seventy-three percent believe that overseas trade is a good
thing even if it forces Americans to become more competitive
with overseas workers.

-- By a three-to-one margin (of those who had an opinion) they
think America would have created fewer jobs in the last 15
years if it had been more restrictive in its overseas trade.

-- Eighty-four percent said they personally benefit from trade.

-- Sixty percent said U.S. companies are practicing smart
business by placing workers in the most cost-efficient
locations, even if that means overseas.

-- Seventy percent said the U.S. would not be the economic leader
without overseas trade.

The survey was conducted to test perceptions of overseas trade as
CEA culminates its 28-state "America Wins with Trade" bus tour in
Minneapolis for the Republican National Convention. CEA will hold a
pro-trade rally with special guests, including, the Honorable Carlos
M. Gutierrez, U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Congressman Kevin Brady
(R-TX), Congressman Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Congressman David Dreier
(R-CA) in Minneapolis outside of the History Center Museum at 345
Kellogg Boulevard West on September 2nd.

The Zogby survey underscores how Republicans and Democrats see
eye-to-eye on some areas of trade, but disagree on others.

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Democrats Republicans
--------- -----------

Support overseas trade in technology and
consumer electronics 67% 75%

Believe U.S. would have less or same number of
jobs if trade restricted 34% 58%

Benefit personally from overseas trade 62% 75%

Say trade is good even if it forces U.S. to
become more competitive 46% 69%
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The survey of 3,440 people was conducted from August 12-14 and has
a margin of error of 1.7 percent. CEA released the results of
Democrats' perceptions of trade last week in Denver.

Spurred by trade, the consumer electronics industry is projected
to generate $1.4 trillion in direct business activity this year and
directly employ more than 4.4 million Americans. Trade plays a
critical role in the industry's health - for example, one in seven of
those jobs, or about 616,000 jobs, is directly tied to America's trade
overseas.

Of CEA's 2,200 members, 80 percent are small and mid-sized
companies with revenues of $30 million or less. For companies of this
size in particular, trade is crucial for business growth and domestic
job creation.

CEA has called on Congress to pursue a pro-growth trade policy
that includes:

-- Aggressively pursuing bilateral trade agreements. In the
absence of an agreement in the Doha Round of the World Trade
Organization (WTO), bilateral trade agreements offer the next
best way to open foreign markets to U.S. small businesses.
Trade agreements create sales opportunities, reduce costs and
diminish uncertainties. Through trade agreements we can
enforce intellectual property rights, establish substantive
investment protections and provide increased transparency to
U.S. exporters. CEA urges Congress to pass the Colombia,
Panama and Korea Free Trade Agreements this year.

-- Reauthorize trade promotion authority. Without trade promotion
authority our trading partners will be reluctant to negotiate
trade pacts with the U.S. America's hands will be tied, and
the U.S. will fall behind other nations negotiating trade
agreements at an unprecedented pace.

-- Eliminate non-tariff barriers. Non-tariff barriers hinder
trade and burden small companies with unnecessary compliance
costs. Examples of these barriers include cumbersome customs
regulations, corrupt government procurement processes, and
most recently, a proliferation of divergent or non-harmonized
approaches to environmental standards, among others.

-- Uphold and enforce trade agreements. In addition to pursuing
new agreements, the U.S. must commit to maintaining and
enforcing those agreements already in place. The U.S. must
take an aggressive stance to protect products already covered
by the WTO's Information Technology Agreement (ITA). The ITA
covers more than 97 percent of the world trade in information
technology products, and provides for the elimination of
duties on those covered products. It is crucial for the U.S.
to uphold provisions of the ITA that allow for future
developments of IT products and enable companies to enjoy the
full scope of the agreements intended duty-free benefits.

For more information on the CEA trade initiative, please go to
www.CE.org.

About CEA:

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is the preeminent trade
association promoting growth in the $173 billion U.S. consumer
electronics industry. More than 2,200 companies enjoy the benefits of
CEA membership, including legislative advocacy, market research,
technical training and education, industry promotion and the fostering
of business and strategic relationships. CEA also sponsors and manages
the International CES - Where Entertainment, Technology and Business
Converge. All profits from CES are reinvested into CEA's industry
services. Find CEA online at www.CE.org.

UPCOMING EVENTS

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-- CEA Industry Forum
October 19-22, 2008, Las Vegas, NV

-- Digital Hollywood
October 27-30, 2008, Hollywood, CA

-- EHX Fall 2008
November 4-7, 2008, Long Beach, CA

-- CES New York Press Preview featuring CES Unveiled @ NY
November 11, 2008, New York, NY

-- Future of Television East
November 18-19, 2008, New York, NY

-- CES Unveiled: The Official Press Event of the International CES
January 6, 2009, Las Vegas, NV

-- 2009 International CES
January 8-11, 2009, Las Vegas, NV

-- Digital Music Forum East
February 25-26, 2009, New York, NY

-- Digital Patriots Dinner
April 22, 2009, Washington, DC

-- CEA Washington Forum
April 22-23, 2009, Washington, DC
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Consumer Electronics Association
Jason Oxman, 703-907-7664
joxman@CE.org
http://www.CE.org
or
Meghan Henning, 703-907-7654
mhenning@CE.org

Copyright Business Wire 2008