Boosting  jobs, salaries and opportunities

Amid a challenging economic environment, a critical measurement of America’s economic strength — the gross domestic product — showed solid growth of 3.3 percent in the 2nd quarter. Underlying that impressive number is an extremely vital truth that America’s workers need America’s policymakers to focus on:  Most of that economic growth was due to international trade.

America’s economy rallied in the 2nd quarter primarily because American exports increased 13 percent. American workers also need policymakers to focus on the fact that U.S. jobs supported by exports pay 13 to 18 percent more than average.

America is able to export more to eager foreign markets because international trade agreements over the years have reduced barriers to trade.  Since the North American Free Trade Agreement (championed by President Bill Clinton and Republicans) went into effect, manufacturing output in the U.S. has risen by more than 56 percent. You can bet the 141 percent increase in manufactured exports over the past decade contributed to that rise.

One of every three acres of U.S. agriculture is planted for export. In 2007, America exported $513 billion in services, with a record $128 billion trade surplus in the service sector. Service exports have increased 103 percent since 1994. Eight out of every 10 jobs in America is in services, so this is an especially positive result of multilateral trade negotiation.  

International trade agreements generate recurring benefits to American workers. The two major trade agreements of the 1990s – NAFTA and the Uruguay Round — generate annual benefits of $1,300-$2,000 for the average American family. In the past 13 years, freer trade has helped raise America’s gross domestic product by 48 percent and over that period 23 million jobs were added.

Free trade agreements and negotiations since 1945 have boosted U.S. annual incomes $1 trillion, which translates to $9,000 per household.   The post-World War II march toward freer international trade has resulted in a tremendous boon to Americans’ standard of living.

Additional gains in economic growth can be realized if America will lead the way in advancing free trade in all the world’s economies. America’s already substantial exports will be even larger in the future if we can open foreign markets through additional trade agreements and negotiations that promote America’s interests.

While trade has produced huge benefits for our nation, U.S. manufactured goods, agriculture products and services are still running up against trade barriers in many other countries. We have to eliminate those barriers to create even more markets for the goods and services Americans produce. That’s exactly what the pending trade agreements with Colombia, South Korea and Panama would do. Consider this: 90 percent of Colombian products come to the U.S. duty-free while our exports face stiff tariffs. Our trade agreement with Colombia would wipe-out those tariffs, leveling the playing field for the nearly 8,000 small and mid-sized American companies that export to Colombia. That would create new opportunities for American workers.         

It is indisputable that a great deal of America’s enduring economic strength is due to policies that respect and promote free enterprise and trade. Exports are at record levels and have helped offset troubled sectors of the economy — a fact underscored in the 2nd quarter GDP figures. Yet there are some who would have America shrink from free trade into the isolationist policies of the past that did so much harm to our economy.

America has nothing to fear from trade — our country’s workers can compete with anyone. Our country has a tremendous competitive advantage in our workforce, which according to the United Nations International Labour Organization leads the world in productivity. History shows that America’s economic prowess is due to the drive and ingenuity of American workers. Given a level playing field on international trade — which only trade agreements and negotiation can make happen — American workers will come away winners.

Chao is the secretary of labor.