Making Trade a Part of the 21st-Century Economy
Making Trade a Part of the 21st-Century Economy
By: Congressman Tim Huelskamp
When I stop and think about how quickly we exchange information and ideas with people across the globe, I am astonished. In a matter of seconds you can transmit your voice and picture to someone thousands of miles away. In a matter of hours you can travel to another continent. But, what you cannot do is sell our goods to people in certain countries. It's neither technology nor transport that's the impediment, either.
Sitting in the White House right now are three pending trade agreements with Colombia, Panama, and Korea. They have been ready to go for months and years, but remain on the President's desk. We can exchange emails with and visit people in these three nations, and if these agreements are ratified, Kansans will be able to sell their goods and products to people in these countries.
If the President would submit these three agreements to Congress, they would be approved swiftly. Democrats and Republicans alike in both the House and the Senate have already expressed their support for expanding trade with these nations. There are often disputes in Congress, but members of both parties understand the significant economic impact these agreements would provide to each of the 50 states.
With unemployment lagging, manufacturing declining, and overall economic growth stagnating, these agreements would provide immediate relief and opportunity to reverse these negative trends. Like every other state in the nation, Kansas would benefit tremendously both in economic activity and job creation as a result of finalizing these agreements.
According to the Kansas Farm Bureau, our state is likely export $106 million in agricultural goods to Korea, $21 million to Colombia, and $1 million to Panama. This is not chump change; this would provide a much-needed boost to our rural communities in particular. More than a thousand new jobs would be supported. And, what's more is that trade-related jobs pay up to 18% more. When Washington is in search of an easy – and inexpensive – way to get Americans back to work and money back in their pockets, this is a golden ticket.
In our global marketplace, we cannot afford to wait. One need only look to the new agreement between the European Union and Korea as an example of the opportunity created by opening trade between the U.S. and Korea. On July 1 of this year the EU and Korea began a new agreement; the first two week saw a nearly 20 percent increase in trade volume for the EU. The U.S. would likely see similar surges. If Kansas could have the opportunity to trade on better terms with Korea – particularly beef – the gain would be ours. According to some estimates, every $1 billion in beef exports to Korea would result in 12,700 jobs.
Members of both parties anxiously await receipt of these trade agreements from the White House, so it is my hope that when Congress is back in session in September the President will send them immediately. Every day that goes by without ratification will likely include more negative economic indicators. Every day that passes, economists will continue to scratch their heads, wondering from where the recovery will come. These trade agreements may not be the full solution, but they are certainly one key piece of the puzzle of getting our economy back in shape.