"Help American Workers. Pass TPP."

["Dave Farber" <farber () gmail com>]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Hendricks Dewayne <dewayne () warpspeed com>
> Date: September 17, 2016 at 11:24:39 AM EDT
> To: Multiple recipients of Dewayne-Net <dewayne-net () warpspeed com>
> Subject: [Dewayne-Net] "Help American Workers. Pass TPP."
> Reply-To: dewayne-net () warpspeed com
>
> "Help American Workers. Pass TPP."
> By Michael R. Bloomberg & Thomas J. Donohue
> Sep 16 2016
> <https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-09-16/help-american-workers-pass-tpp>
>
> Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have both said they will oppose the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade pact between 
> the U.S. and 11 nations negotiated by the Obama administration and signed in February. But their views shouldn’t 
> matter much, because the issue should never get to the next president’s desk. Congressional consideration of the 
> agreement has been delayed long enough. Congress should vote on the bill -- and pass it -- before the year is out.
>
> Anti-trade sentiment has made it fashionable for candidates to oppose TPP. But while a vocal and energized faction of 
> voters on the left and right advocate protectionist measures, most Americans -- including majorities in both parties 
> and among independents -- believe more trade is good for the American economy. So do nearly all economists and a 
> large majority of the business and agriculture communities.
>
> Global trade opens up new markets to American businesses, creating new opportunities to grow. In fact, the U.S. 
> actually runs a cumulative trade surplus in manufactured goods with our 20 trade agreement partners, and we’ve long 
> run global trade surpluses for services and agricultural products. But you wouldn’t know that by listening to the 
> presidential candidates.
>
> Trade also lowers the cost of goods for U.S. consumers. Without trade, everything we buy -- from food to clothing to 
> electronics -- would be dramatically more expensive. When was the last time you heard a candidate say you ought to 
> pay more for groceries and underwear?
>
> The U.S. will never again be the global capital for low-skill manufacturing, and attempting to reclaim that title by 
> turning away from trade and erecting protectionist measures would be a fool’s errand. The 1950s-era economy is gone 
> and never coming back -- more as a result of technology than trade.
>
> Most of the manufacturing jobs lost over the past two decades have been automated out of existence, not lost to 
> trade. As goods and services are increasingly purchased online, greater access to foreign markets is essential to 
> American businesses, including our manufacturers, which increasingly depend on foreign markets to support jobs here 
> at home. For instance, U.S. auto exports more than doubled between 2009 and 2014, topping 2 million cars and trucks 
> for the first time in 2014. Shipments of “made in the USA” cars to China rose tenfold in that period. And without the 
> growth in trade that the U.S. has experienced during that time, many more Americans -- in manufacturing and other 
> industries -- would be out of work.
>
> The challenge we face today is finding ways to create more high-wage jobs and to ensure that more Americans have the 
> skills and education they need to qualify for them. Such jobs tend to be dependent on foreign markets for materials, 
> labor and customers. Breaking down barriers to those markets, which TPP will do, is essential to America’s future in 
> the global economy.
>
> Of course, the overall benefits of trade are small comfort to those who feel the immediate pain of losing their jobs 
> when a factory moves its operations overseas. There is more that elected officials can and should do to help such 
> workers, but opposing TPP is not one of them. In fact, politicians who blame trade for sluggish economic growth are 
> merely diverting attention from their own failure to deal with critical issues that are holding back businesses, 
> including addressing the country’s antiquated infrastructure.
>
> [snip]
>
> Dewayne-Net RSS Feed: <http://dewaynenet.wordpress.com/feed/>



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