Next Generation Air Transportation System Integrated Plan

1.3 Global Leadership
The United States has been a leader in aviation since its very
inception 100 years ago. That leadership is a result of the energy
and creativity of America’s private sector which has supported our
economic health through developing a highly skilled workforce,
encouraging technical innovations, and producing aviation products
used around the globe. The private sector has also been supported
by the U.S. leadership in establishing the institutional framework
and standards necessary for this sector. Unless we establish a vision
and framework that encourages and enables further private sector
innovation, our competitiveness in aviation is likely to diminish.
Loss of competitiveness in this area would mean a loss in highpaying
jobs and a weakening of our economic strength through a
shift in the balance of trade. We cannot afford to be a second-tier
aviation supplier in the second century of aviation.
Just as in the domestic arena, the government should avoid picking
winners and losers in the international economy. However, it does
accept responsibility for ensuring that international competition
provides U.S. firms with a fair opportunity to compete for markets.
The air transportation and aerospace markets, in particular, are
highly influenced by international agreements that set standards
and provide for market access. In some cases, the air transportation
system and key suppliers are owned or financed by governments in
other countries. Federal research and institutional arrangements
to support transformation will assist U.S. negotiators as they
strive to provide for a fair and equitable international competitive
environment for U.S. firms. As the U.S. “Hushkit” controversy with
Europe demonstrated, the ability of U.S. firms to operate overseas is
closely interconnected with trade policy, international standards and
our ability to generate technological advances to global problems.
The economic stake of maintaining leadership is high. Civil aviation
products and services generate a significant surplus for U.S. trade
accounts and contribute to the $100 billion a year in tourism from
abroad. Air transportation has spawned a highly technical workforce.
Aviation technologies, products, and services underpin the advanced
capabilities of our national defense and homeland security. 7
Congress, commissions, state authorities, and others have all
recognized that government and industry need to take a different
approach to the business of aviation. If the United States is going to
be ready for the changes that are to come in the next two decades,
we need an integrated plan—one where government creates a stable
institutional framework that encourages the creativity of the private
sector.
7 PL 108-176 Sec 4 (1-4)
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