President Barack Obama is asking Congress for the authority to negotiate international trade agreements, but he’s facing opposition from anti-trade voices. If these trade opponents succeed in blocking Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), it will be bad for the economy in Georgia and across the country.
America’s prosperity and that of our state depend on being open for business with the rest of the world. Today, roughly a third of U.S. gross domestic product is tied to international trade and more than one in five U.S. jobs depend on trade, including 1.2 million jobs here in Georgia. Our state is among the top 10 largest exporters in the country, selling about $60 billion worth of goods and services abroad every year.
The Cargill production plant I manage in Gainesville is part of that export economy, turning food produced by American farmers into dressings, sauces and cooking oils exported to Latin America and the Middle East. We could be exporting to many other countries, if not for the high tariffs on U.S. food products or the foreign regulatory barriers that sometimes keep our products from competing altogether. That doesn’t just hurt Cargill’s business, it hurts consumers, especially those with low incomes who have to pay artificially inflated prices for food.
That’s why Congress needs to pass Trade Promotion Authority. TPA would give the administration the freedom to negotiate the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement later this year, which would eliminate tariffs and set a common regulatory standard for a dozen different Pacific Rim countries. Under TPA, Congress would still have final approval over any trade agreements. The bill sets the standard that any trade agreements must benefit American workers in order to be approved.
Much has been made of the Trans-Pacific Partnership being kept “secret.” The truth is the final draft of the deal hasn’t even been written yet. U.S. negotiators are haggling over the details to try to get the best deal for our country, and it’s important to keep our bargaining position close to the vest. You wouldn’t criticize a family for keeping their spending budget private as they negotiate with a car salesman, just as you can’t fault a poker player for keeping his hand to himself before the showdown.
Lawmakers who harp on transparency ignore the fact that complete disclosure before the deal is even inked would put the U.S. at a disadvantage as it tries to finalize agreements with our trading partners. No trade agreement in history has been negotiated under those circumstances. However, if TPA is passed, it contains a provision that will make the Trans-Pacific Partnership and any other trade deals public for 60 days before they are signed by the president. I think that should go a long way to calm fears about the secrecy of trade deals.
Opponents of TPA also are wrong to say that trade deals will harm U.S. workers. On the contrary, trade has been good to Georgia’s workers and small businesses. More than one of every five Georgians’ livelihoods depend on international trade, from exports in the aerospace industry and motor vehicles to pulp and paperboard products. Trade-related employment has grown 4.5 times faster than the average rate since 2004 and 89 percent of the state’s exporters are small- and medium-sized businesses with less than 500 employees.
The TPA bill now moves to the U.S. House of Representatives after a majority of senators voted in favor of it, including Georgia senators Johnny Isakson and David Perdue. We congratulate Isakson and Perdue for their strong support of TPA and urge their colleagues in the House to follow their lead on behalf of the millions of their constituents who rely on trade for their livelihoods.
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