The National Export Initiative brought new emphasis to the federal  government’s role in promoting exports. MAS Combines Industry and Trade Expertise in Providing Analytical and Policy Support to the U.S. Government

		MAS Offices Focus on Industry Sectors and Economic Analysis, Primarily in Manufacturing

MAS’s primary goal is to support the competitiveness of U.S. industry in  domestic and international markets, which it does largely through  providing policy advice, research, and analytical support to other parts of  Commerce and the U.S. government. MAS’s major activities include:  collection and dissemination of data on U.S. industry and trade;  production of analyses on domestic and international trade and  investment policies that can affect competitiveness; identification and  resolution of overseas market and trade barriers; and management of the  Industry Trade Advisory Committees (see tables 2 and 3 for more detailed  descriptions of MAS’s activities; see app. MAS’s Clients Report that MAS Provides Analysis Not Readily Available Elsewhere in Government

While MAS conducts activities that have similarities to activities of other  agencies, officials from MAS’s client agencies stated that MAS can provide  analysis that combines industry and trade expertise that is not readily  available elsewhere in government. MAS Faces Challenges in Prioritizing Activities, Monitoring its Workload, and Communicating its Role and Contributions

		MAS Has Undertaken an Internal Review, but Has Not Had a Clear System to Prioritize Activities or a Clear Mission Statement

MAS has undertaken an internal review to update its mission and priorities  regarding activities and clients and has proposed changes which are  currently under departmental review. MAS’s System to Monitor Its Workload is Used Unevenly

MAS does not have a mechanism to systematically monitor analysts’  workload or the amount of time spent on requests for different clients. Consequently, the public and Congress may have limited information  about MAS’s contributions to policy making. For the general public, ITA’s Web sites provide limited information about  MAS’s priorities and activities. MAS Faces Challenges in Measuring Its Contributions to the Trade Policy Process

		External Factors Affect MAS’s Achievement of Its Broad, Outcome-Based Performance Targets

Due to its policy-support role, MAS’s ability to meet its performance  targets, such as breaking down trade barriers faced by U.S. firms, depends  on actions from other agencies, Congress, businesses, and foreign  governments. Some of this  work is used by senior government officials in Commerce and other parts  of the Executive Branch. MAS has  established a detailed process to measure its performance, but the office  does not systematically obtain feedback from all its clients or track its  contributions to major policy decisions that fall outside its performance  measures. This makes it difficult for MAS to accurately determine the  extent to which it adds value or to identify opportunities for improvement. Recommendations for Executive Action

To better assure MAS is meeting the needs of its clients, we recommend  that the Secretary of Commerce, in concert with MAS management, take  the following four actions: 1. In order to ascertain whether MAS is meeting the needs of its  government clients involved in the trade policy process, explore ways  to more systematically obtain information on the value it is adding. In its  comment letter, Commerce stated that it fully concurred with our findings  and recommendations. Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

The objectives of this report were to examine (1) the Office of  Manufacturing and Services’s (MAS) goals and activities, and how the  types of analysis and expertise it provides compare with those provided by  other government entities; (2) how MAS prioritizes its activities and  targets its resources; and (3) the extent to which MAS tracks and reports  its contributions to increasing U.S. competitiveness and trade. We also interviewed officials from other U.S.  government agencies, including International Trade Commission, Office of  the United States Trade Representative, the Departments of State, Energy,  Transportation, Treasury, Environmental Protection Agency, and Office of  Management and Budget (OMB). To assess  the reliability of the World Bank and Commerce data, we interviewed  knowledgeable agency officials.
Why GAO Did This Study

Declining U.S. manufacturing has been an issue of continuing concern for policymakers; this was reflected in the Obama Administration's (Administration) 2010 announcement of the National Export Initiative. The Administration has also shown interest in improving the efficiency of the federal support of trade operations. In 2004, the Office of Manufacturing and Services (MAS) was established within the Department of Commerce's (Commerce) International Trade Administration (ITA) to enhance the global competitiveness of U.S. industry. GAO was asked to examine (1) MAS's goals and activities and how they compare with those of other government entities; (2) how MAS prioritizes its activities and targets its resources; and (3) the extent to which MAS tracks and reports its efforts. GAO reviewed agency documents and interviewed officials from MAS, other parts of ITA and Commerce, and other agencies..

What GAO Found

MAS's primary goal is to support the competitiveness of U.S. industry, which it does largely through combining its industry and trade expertise to support other parts of Commerce, including other parts of the ITA and external U.S. government clients, such as the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). The major activities of MAS's offices include: collection and dissemination of data on U.S. industry and trade, production of analyses on policies that can affect competitiveness, and identification and resolution of overseas trade barriers. While some activities may seem similar to those of other agencies, such as USTR, officials from MAS's client agencies stated that MAS's combination of industry and trade expertise is not readily available to them elsewhere in the government. MAS has undertaken an internal review to update its mission and priorities regarding activities and clients and has proposed changes currently under departmental review. MAS does not have a mechanism to systematically monitor analysts' workload or the amount of time spent on requests for different clients. The absence of workload data may hinder its ability to effectively allocate its resources to address the needs of the trade policy process. Further, MAS's role has not been clearly communicated, and ITA's Web site provides limited information about MAS. Consequently, the public and Congress have limited information about MAS's activities and contributions to policy making. MAS's ability to meet its performance targets largely depends on actions from other government agencies and other parties, making isolating its contributions difficult. MAS developed a series of steps, or milestones, to help isolate its contributions to trade policy outcomes, although officials acknowledged continuing challenges. Further, MAS does not systematically obtain feedback on its performance from the agencies to which it provides analysis, nor does it track its contributions to major policy decisions that fall outside its externally reported performance targets. This makes it difficult to assess the extent to which MAS's work adds value to the trade policy process.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends that the Secretary of Commerce take actions, in concert with MAS, to finalize MAS's focusing of mission and priorities, systematically monitor workload, and more systematically obtain and communicate information on the value MAS adds to the trade policy process. In its comments, Commerce concurred with the findings and recommendations and expects to make progress by October 2011.