Is Congress allergic to the letter ‘T’?

For two torturous years, the U.S. trade community has listened to members of Congress as they asked us to wait for the lame-duck session, since that would be a perfect time to move on serious trade-related issues.

Well, the lame-duck has arrived and trade is still in the intensive care unit. The respirator has malfunctioned, and all the issues on the table are about to die an ignominious death. Short of a miracle on K Street, the clock has probably run its course.

{mosads}This incredible inability to move forward with trade legislation makes us wonder why six years of defined leadership from the Senate and the executive branch could have failed so miserably on critical trade items that affect the American business community. It remains clear that this group will go down in history as having passed only what they had to, having failed to initiate anything new, and having let significant trade legislation expire. Of course the Democrats will blame the Republicans and vice-versa, but who cares; the tale of the tape for America is on the record.

Some on Capitol Hill now believe that trade has become such a toxic subject, that members of Congress have actually become allergic to the letter “T.” As a test, just sneeze in the Washington Metro while you simultaneously yell out the word SARS and you will quickly visualize the same reaction we get on Capitol Hill when trade is referenced. Everyone just ducks (or says wait for the lame-duck).

Rumor has it that the current 113th Congress will terminate its session by voting to reduce its D.C. “jargon-bet” from 26 letters to 25, thus completely eliminating the letter “T” from any further discussion.

Without “T,” Washington trade-speak will proceed as follows:

TPA (Trade Promotion Authority) becomes PA: Promise Anything; do nothing
TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) becomes PP: What a puppy does at night
TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership becomes IP: In Paris — with martini

It’s easy to be glib about what’s not happening in D.C., but the raw truth is that inaction causes pain and suffering to our economic engine and to our competitive edge on the world stage. As we continue to flaunt our inability to make a decision, China, the EU, and the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) communities are moving forward with aggressive trade deals. Watching our self-inflicted wound is right up there with walking into a cellphone store and ordering a new Blackberry. We may think we’re making progress, but we’re not.

It’s also time to get a grip on the Alibaba world. The U.S. has a population of 316 million people, while China has a population of 1.36 billion people. The United States consumes about $10.96 trillion dollars at retail, while China consumes only $2.5 trillion. Looking at the numbers, here is the statistical reality: China’s population is 77 percent bigger than America and consumes 87 percent less. As we watch China grow at such a rapid pace, what are we doing to capture a share of that market? Are we asleep, not aware, afraid or just pretending to be the proverbial frog in the frying pan, that doesn’t feel the heat until it’s too late?

It is estimated that by 2020, China will be the largest consumer market in the world, surpassing the U.S., with their purchasing valued at almost $16 trillion dollars! On Nov. 11 (“Singles’ Day” in China), Alibaba, China’s e-commerce giant, sold (online) $1 billion dollars in the first 20 minutes, $2 billion in the first one hour, and $9.3 billion for the day! Trade is no longer local – we live in a global community.

Make no mistake, some people on Capitol Hill are visionary, and do care passionately about trade. But it appears that their hands are tied, and it’s difficult for them to accomplish realistic goals. These folks are the real heroes because, at the very least, they do have a vision for the future. Everyone needs to remember that on issues like trade, leadership is top down, not bottom up. So, if the White House doesn’t lead, Congress will not follow.

While PP and IP (formerly TPP and TTIP) are road maps for the future, the continuous failure to renew existing legislation like the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) and the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) actually hurt the most.

GSP was first passed in 1974 and is probably one of the best democracy-building tools that we have in our arsenal. It encourages developing economies to do business with the U.S. duty free, providing they maintain certain defined qualifications. These GSP countries provide low-cost raw materials for use in American manufacturing. As an example, if a U.S. entrepreneur were to build a competitive business model by utilizing low-cost imported materials for assembly in the U.S., that same person would have been paying duty on those imported items since July 2013, when Congress failed to reauthorize the bill. Talk about being painful: The lack of a GSP renewal hurts not only the manufacturer in the U.S., but also the country partner that was providing the service. If the GSP nonrenewal continues into 2015, it is estimated that this GSP tax hike will have cost American companies over $1 billion dollars. Situations like GSP non-renewal are appalling. Alibaba makes $1 billion in 20 minutes and we tax our own companies the same amount for a year — where’s the logic?

The African Growth and Opportunity Act expires in September 2015. The legislation is 15-years-old, but it only recently has become fashionable. For an American business to invest in this African program, one would need to plan ahead and have some assurance that the program would be ongoing. It is entirely logical that companies have stopped investing in Africa because they have no clue as to whether Congress will renew AGOA, especially based on the current non-renewals that they witness every day.

It’s probably inappropriate to lecture Congress, but the actual truth is that we don’t write the trade laws, Congress does. Many of us who deal with trade issues still hold an optimistic (but small) sliver of hope that some movement will occur in the lame-duck session. We would, however, encourage Congress to take a serious look at the perception that is garnered by their insufferable inaction. Simply put, they ask the American public to invest in their programs, and then they fail to see them through. This singular act of inconsistency instills a loss of confidence in the entire legislative process.

Please, Congress, we do appreciate if you can recall the sage advice given by Forrest Gump’s mother: “Sometimes we all do things that, well, just make no sense.”

Helfenbein is chairman of the board of the American Apparel and Footwear Association. He is a strong advocate for a robust U.S. trade agenda and lectures frequently on the subjects of supply chain and international trade.