The ability of the U.S. to compete globally is eroding, according to a federal report released Friday that described itself as a “call to arms.”

The report, which has a strong emphasis on technology, warns that “some elements of the U.S. economy are losing their competitive edge.” It points out, for instance, that the U.S. ran a trade surplus in “advanced technology products,” which includes biotechnology products, computers, semiconductors and robotics, until 2002. In 2010, however, the U.S. “ran an $81 billion trade deficit in this critically important sector.”

The report, titled the “The Competitiveness and Innovative Capacity of the United States,” was prepared by the U.S. Department of Commerce.