Creating American Jobs Through Global Trade
Today, America faces a choice--to reach out and seize the benefits of international engagement or retreat into isolationism. This choice is central to the competitiveness of the U.S. economy and the hopes of hardworking citizens pursuing the American Dream.
The best way to protect American jobs and create new ones is to see the economic opportunities that exist in selling to 95% of the world's customers who live outside of our borders.
The overwhelming majority of Americans derive great benefits from trade. An astonishing 57 million Americans work for companies that benefit from exports. One in five factory jobs depends on exports, and one in three acres on America's farms are planted for consumers overseas.
A major surge of exports is our best path out of recession, double-digit unemployment, and exploding deficits. We should set a national goal of doubling U.S. exports in five years. To achieve this goal, we must do the following:
First, enact the pending free trade agreements. If we dawdle while Canada and the European Union move ahead with their own trade accords with Colombia, Panama, and Korea, American workers will be put at a disadvantage. We also need to bring about a successful conclusion to the Doha Round negotiations.
Second, we must lend a hand to small businesses looking to sell their goods overseas. While a quarter million small and mid-size companies currently export, many more should be looking for customers overseas.
Third, we need to go on the offense. This administration will be stuck playing defense against isolationist initiatives until it devises a forward-leaning trade agenda of its own. Strong leadership is needed now to expand trade, backed by actions as well as words.
What happens if we fail to seize the opportunities of trade? The Chamber has just released a study exposing the economic cost--particularly in lost American jobs--resulting from the failure to approve pending trade agreements, Buy American rules in the stimulus bill, and U.S. refusal to implement cross-border trucking with Mexico. Half a million American jobs are at risk if the United States fails to move forward on trade.
On trade, we can't stand still, and we can't go backward. That's just one reason why the U.S. Chamber is launching an historic initiative--a positive Campaign for Free Enterprise-- to remind Americans about the importance of economic freedom to jobs, our economy, and our way of life. Expanding our exports and pressing for open markets at home and abroad will be a critical plank in this campaign.
We'll carry this message to the administration, to Congress, and all across this great land. We hope you'll join us.
To read how doubling American exports can create good-paying jobs, end the recession, reduce the deficit, and bolster America's global leadership, visit uschamber.com/trade.
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Let's examine those "benefits" of free trade shall we:
loss of 6.5 million mfg jobs
plant closures and downsizings
loss of productive capacity
eroded technological and innovative edge
reduced product quality and safety
stagnant and declining wages
intellectual property theft
reduced consumer choices of domestic goods
increased energy demand
accelerated environmental degradation
forgot
massive deficits
increased illegal immigration
reduced national security
A lot of those jobs were lost from the recession, not from free trade. Productive capacity in the US has actually increased substantially over the decade despite lower employment levels. Industrial production increased dramatically during the decade as well - until mid-2008 that is. This is because companies are focusing on high value add production and shedding themselves of their low margin commoditized businesses. Free trade has also put significant downward pressure on inflation over the past 25 years (because smaller wage increases equates to small consumer price increases), which helped drive down interest rates and thus helped create the massive construction boom over the past 15 years. The construction boom rebuild the center of most major US cities, and particularly Manhattan, Los Angeles, Chicago, Vegas, Miami, Dallas, even DC, as well as built huge suburban areas filled with McMansions (I'm having a huge one built as we speak). I just saw the huge construction that took place at Hilton Head Island in S Carolina last week. Anyone that has been to Miami-Fort Lauderdale has seen what free trade has helped built. The LA area is also tremendous.
US "production" has become hollowed out and are merely final assembly points or repackaging operations of foreign made components
As we all know the construction boom (bubble) was artificial and created by too cheap and easy credit
free trade has devasated communities in OH, PA, IN MI and other midwestern states
tell me dugan - have you ever actuially worked in manufacturing?
so basically its ok for a few el1t1sts on the coast to benefit while midwestern workers pay the price
nice
been to chicago lately - an awful lot of vacant commercial and residential property
Free Trade is nothing more than a license to off-shore jobs. Once the trade agreement is in place, manufacturing of the "said" products we'd be selling to the other country move there and then get exported back to the US tariff free. So we displace well paying manufacturing jobs with low paying distribution jobs.
The only time free trade works for the benefit of the average US citizen is when it's between two relatively equal partners in terms of labor and living standards, i.e. Canada, Europe, Japan are economies that are not considered low cost regions and thus the incentive to close mfg. in the US to move it there isn't nearly as high.
If we really care about trade and helping the US worker, why is it so hard to export one of our products into China, India, Philippines, etc.? Their products flow like water into the US, but try to ship something we make into one of those countries, you have to deal with mountains of red tape just to clear customs, and this is by design!!!
Free Trade is a lie. Just follow the money!!!! A $5 toaster from China bought at Walmart isn't such a great deal when you UNEMPLOYED!!!
Instead of trade agreements, why don't we focus on international LABOR STANDARDS ? Why do you think the cost of goods and services are soooooo much cheaper in developing countries? Salaries, benefits, environmental controls, overall quality and cost of living stink there.
Eventually, say in years, those workers will demand more, get more and eventually cost more - in a perfect model we will reach equilibrium where we are all more alike than different in salaries, benefits, etc. But that is years away. In the meantime, MILLIONS of un-employed or under-employed Americans are currently in big trouble.
Let's do something drastic for the Short Term because the US companies that are making tons of profits off the cheaper foreign goods and services aren't sharing / benefiting anyone other than the few CEO's and Corporate Leaders at the top (stock options, bonuses, salaries, etc.). Maybe a fraction of the profits are watered down and sprinkled around as additional taxes. Maybe - there are so many ways for companies to offset profits with paper "losses" from investments.
Oh.. and let's not let the companies that lay off tens of thousands of Americans in blocks of 5,000 (IBM) and hire overseas at TWICE the number they fire.....gain any benefits from the US Government stimulus system. They can't be a cause of the economic crisis and at the same time benefit from it UNLESS the work from the stimulus will reinstate the same level of jobs outsourced (10,000 at current count, for IBM).
China has been working on their environmental problems. And they know it's for their own benefit, not for the benefit of the United States. Most factory workers in china saw an increase in wages and living standards by getting a job in a factory, not lower ages and standard of living. The cost of living of any area matches the wage level there, otherwise no one would have the money to live there. Many US companies are hiring abroad because that is where the growth is. US growth was a 1980s and 1990s story. The 2000s has been more a global growth story, particularly in Asia, so that's where companies want to invest. That's smart. Also, most these companies are investing there to make money there, not to invest there to ship cheap stuff back to the US.
DUH ! Does it come with a tomato slicer too ? You are NOT acting in the best interest of the United States . Mr. Donohue, Why don't you personally come to some town hall meetings and state your case to the American people.
third times the charm
there should be no more trade "deals" without meaningful and enforceable labor stds, environmental and product safety protections as well as intellectula property rights. these are the hold ups to further trade deals with columbia ( that has an abysmal labor record) and Kroea who protects their own markets and subsidizes industries
unilateral "free" trade isn't working, wnd we should stop digging while we are in the hole
The C of C likes to say people benefit and jobs are created yet they never seem to be able to tell us who and what jobs?
there are an awful lot of people here in OH, IN and MI who certainly have not beneftitted from free trade as we see plants close, jobs offshored and whole industries decimated on a daily basis
and who really believes people in panama and columbia will be buying US goods and services in any meaningful way
these deals are simply about more labor arbitrage and regulation avoidence
"trade agreements" ????
The stealth content here is free trade for certain special interests.
Trade agreements of the last 10 years have wiped out the shoe industry, the furniture industry, textile manufacturing, and most small local manufacturers making fishing tackle, auto accessories, hand tools, etc.
The issue is bigger than a few deals for special interests. I guess "structural" would be the word -- It is hard for US manufacturers to compete because they have expenses that are not present in other countries.
Europeanization of America might help:
1. European-style health care would save manufacturers lots of wage costs.
2. Decent public transport would enable workers to get to work without a car.
3. Manufacturers need to be able to sell their stuff in the US before they can ramp up to exporting it. We need to protect local markets to get industry running. The manufacturers need to be making the right stuff. And consumers need to have money to spend on it.
All of this points to green initiatives - programs to get us off carbon, increase energy efficiency, etc.
Reagan hurt our ability to export when he stopped the US from converting to the metric system. Their tools won't fit our stuff.
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