December 04, 2001|By Dean Kleckner
DES MOINES - U.S. exports are drying up, and that ought to worry everyone concerned about farmers and millions of other Americans whose jobs depend on them.
Countries worldwide are striking free-trade deals with one another, but not with the United States.
That's because the Bush administration lacks Trade Promotion Authority - the ability to negotiate free-trade agreements with other countries and submit them to Congress for approval or rejection, but not amendments. Every president since Gerald Ford has had this important tool at his disposal, but it lapsed seven years ago and hasn't been renewed.
Since then, we've been left in the dust. There are about 131 international free-trade agreements on the books today. The United States is party to a mere three of them - one with Canada and Mexico (NAFTA), another with Israel, and a final one with Jordan. The European Union, by contrast, has arrangements with 27 countries.
Most of these deals were made within the last decade, and another 15 or so are in the pipeline. Mexico - our second-biggest trading partner after Canada - has struck some 25 trade deals since 1994. Earlier this year, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick rightly warned, "The United States is falling behind the rest of the world when it comes to trade liberalization."
The problem is that other countries simply won't enter serious negotiations with the United States unless the president has TPA.
As Pascal Lamy, the European trade commissioner, recently noted, "If [TPA] is denied by Congress, it would be hard for the U.S. administration to establish itself as a credible trading partner."
In other words, we're frozen out.
This would be harmful enough in a good economy, but the fact is we're in a recession and so is much of the rest of the world.
In the United States, we're doing everything we can to improve the economy. Congress is on the verge of approving an economic stimulus package. The Federal Reserve recently cut interest rates for the 10th time this year.
The House now must do its part and restore TPA. A vote on the measure is expected this week.
Passing TPA would provide a tremendous boost to the economy.
International trade currently accounts for more than one-quarter of U.S. productivity, according to the Commerce Department. More than 12 million jobs depend on exports, including one out of every five manufacturing jobs.
Jobs that rely on exports pay 12 to 15 percent more than the average for all U.S. jobs because they tend to require greater skills and education.
Members of labor unions would be some of the chief beneficiaries of free trade, even though many of their short-sighted leaders oppose granting TPA to President Bush.
Mr. Bush wants TPA, and the Senate is willing to give it to him. The only question concerns the House. A close vote is likely, but a win is vital for our country's economic health.
Dean Kleckner is chairman of Truth About Trade and Technology, a national organization based in Des Moines, Iowa, formed by farmers to promote expanded free trade and advancements in agricultural biotechnology.
