Exports Create Jobs, Trade Wars Lose Jobs
Posted by GSDispatch Editor in by The Lee's Summit Conservative, GSD Online
Lee’s Summit, July 10, 2010 – The United States has nearly 10% unemployment, businesses are in search of customers, laid off workers are looking for jobs, and Congress triggers off a trade war with the second largest importer of American Goods: Mexico. This single action has affected the United States by causing the losses of over 87,000 jobs at a time we can least afford it.
Kansas City and Missouri, on the I-35 corridor the major trade route between the United States, Canada and Mexico has certainly felt the effects. Further as exports plummet to pre-NAFTA levels, more jobs will be lost as markets are closed to US Exporters throughout the US and the Kansas City metro area.
We exported $105 billion dollars to Mexico in 2009 (all data from the International Trade Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce), second only to Canada’s $172 billion. That is a responsible for a large number of jobs created specifically to serve those two markets.
In 2009 the US Congress removed the funding for the pilot program that allowed 100 Mexican trucks to enter the United States, and deliver outside the 25 mile zone around ports of entry. The history of the NAFTA agreement and it’s equal requirements rule for trucks in Mexico, the US and Canada is long, but suffice it to say that the US has been dragging its feet to put into effect a portion of the NAFTA agreement that was ratified by congress during the Clinton Administration on November 17, 1993,.
In 2001 Mexico entered a complaint, by the rules of NAFTA, asking for redress of the US laws not allowing Mexican trucks outside of the 25 mile zone around the entry ports. A panel that included two Americans found that the U.S. was in violation of the terms of North America Free Trade Agreement, as it pertained to trucking.
In 2007 President Bush and the Democratic Congress instituted the pilot program to allow 100 Mexican trucks to travel beyond the 25 miles. Experts, using the data collected from all the inspections confirmed, that “Mexican truck safety appears to be comparable with U.S. trucks… What’s more, CRS {Congressional Research Service} reported reliable cargo refrigeration and precise delivery window requirements for long-haul trucking would exclude unreliable equipment or incompetent drivers from being used by Mexican trucking companies making deliveries in the U.S.” the CRS report said.
Trade with Mexico peaked in 2008 at $151 billion. The imposition of trade sanctions by Mexico has reduced exports in 2009 by $46 billion. Can we truly afford to lose any markets in this economic environment? Affected by this are paper companies, farmers, and manufacturers who are facing smaller export markets.
While President Obama has announced an effort to move forward with the Columbia Free Trade Agreement stalled in congress since 2006, the South Korea Free Trade Agreement, stalled in congress since 2007 as well as the Panama Free Trade Agreement also stalled since 2007, it seems to be getting caught in the political calculus of the Obama Administration and the Democrats; who would not fare well with the more protectionist segment of the Democrat electorate. While our economy languishes, our second largest export market is involved in a trade war of sorts, and our efforts to open up other markets will sit on the bench till after the midterm elections.
America needs jobs now. America cannot wait till 2011 to start to open new markets. We must have leadership that takes the lead and opens the markets so we can export and start to add fuel to the lethargic economic engine.
Don’t think to yourself that “exporting goods is what others do”. Here in Kansas City and Missouri we have a vibrant export community, which creates jobs. Our small company, north of the river here in Kansas City exports over ten percent of our total goods, and over 60% of our domestic manufactured goods. We need and depend on those markets for growth under normal circumstances.
It is time that the “laser focus on the economy” also gets some real action from Congress and from the Obama Administration.
Respectfully Submitted,
The Lee’s Summit Conservative
