Obama and McCain ought to address unfair trade practices
By From Zach Mottl of Atlas Tool & Die Works Inc., chairman of the Government Relations Committe
Posted: 06/11/08 05:13 PM [ET
I want to urge both major-party presidential candidates to take a hard
look at U.S. trade policies. If Sens. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and John
McCain (R-Ariz.) are serious about helping our country’s economy get
back on track they must address how trade is affecting many of the
manufacturers in this country.
Most people agree that trade is an important component of the American
manufacturing economy. American companies, large and small, report that
foreign sales are helping ease the financial impact of a struggling
U.S. economy. The weak dollar has made American goods more competitive
in the world market. However, there is another set of facts to consider
when it comes to trade.
Those facts show that Washington has hesitated to hold all of our
trading partners accountable to fair trading practices. Predatory
foreign trade policies that include subsidies, dumping and currency
manipulation are taking a heavy toll on the industrial base of this
country. Manufacturing is the engine that drives the economy; it is
responsible for much of the R&D efforts and it plays a key role in
allowing the country to defend itself from its enemies. Manufacturing
jobs provide benefits and enable workers to earn much more than minimum
wage.
Peter Morici, a professor at the University of Maryland School of
Business and former chief economist at the U.S. International Trade
Commission, makes the point that manufacturing lost 26,000 jobs in May
and more than 3.7 million jobs over the last 97 months. Morici
correctly argues that were the trade deficit cut in half, manufacturing
would recoup at least 2 million of those jobs, U.S. growth would exceed
3.5 percent a year, household savings performance would improve, and
borrowing from foreigners would decline. Clearly, the jobs that
manufacturing creates allow workers to not just have a job but to make
a living on which you can raise a family.
American manufacturers are not afraid of competition, but that
competition needs to be fair. Manufacturers do not need protectionism,
but we do need protection from unfair trading practices. I hope the
presidential candidates can agree on this.
Park Ridge, Ill.
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