The Greenville News
May 11, 2014
Trade has transformed South Carolina’s economy.
A powerhouse corridor stretching from manufacturers in the Upstate to our thriving Charleston port produced a record high $26.1 billion in merchandise exports last year, according to a new report from the state Department of Commerce. This export wave continues to build with recent billion-dollar investment announcements from Toray Industries and BMW.
But in order for our already-thriving export economy to reach its full potential, Congress needs to give the president the ability to open new markets to South Carolina goods. To do this, he’ll need the same Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) that lawmakers have granted to every administration since Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Trade has deep roots in our state. Since the country’s earliest days, South Carolina’s products, ports and people have made us a vital commercial hub. Today, this commitment to trade is paying more dividends than ever.
International trade supports roughly 545,000 state jobs, a number that has been growing in recent years. Between 2004 and 2011 — a period that includes the Great Recession — trade-based jobs in South Carolina grew more quickly than overall state employment.
Many of these jobs are the direct result of our flourishing export economy. South Carolina goods and services are sold in nearly 200 countries around the world.
Foreign investment is another way in which state workers have reaped the benefits of trade. A recent analysis by IBM-Plant Location International named South Carolina the national leader in attracting jobs through foreign investment. All told, foreign companies based in countries from Germany to Japan to Switzerland employ more than 100,000 South Carolinians.
Imports have also been an important driver of growth and job creation in the Palmetto State. At present, foreign-made raw materials, inputs and component products account for more than 60 percent of U.S. imports. By allowing firms to keep operating costs down, these affordable goods and services help state businesses remain globally competitive which, in turn, protects the jobs of workers here at home.
Foreign-made products also provide South Carolina families with lower prices and greater product choice for their hard-earned dollar. In fact, taken together, policies that reduce barriers to trade and increase foreign investment save the average South Carolina family of four an estimated $10,000 a year.
And yet, some in Congress are slowing new trade negotiations by refusing to renew Trade Promotion Authority. While there’s no one solution to ensure free and fair trade, TPA represents an import tool in America’s trade toolbox.
TPA has been essential to trade negotiations since the 1930s. The authority officially lapsed in 2007, and unless Congress passes legislation renewing TPA, America will be hard pressed to complete two major trade pacts currently in the works.
Among other things, TPA allows pending trade agreements to receive a straight up-or-down vote from Congress. This gives U.S. negotiators the ability to reassure potential trading partners that narrowly parochial interests can’t be added to derail a deal once the details have been hammered out.
At the same time, TPA protects Congress’ ability to shape trade pacts through mandatory consultations with the administration and ultimately to vote down any deal it doesn’t believe to be a net win for America’s national interests.
Which raises yet another key consideration: strong alliances formed through the exchange of goods are one of America’s best weapons to promote stability and our national interest. In a volatile and increasingly interconnected world, countries that trade are far more likely to negotiate than fight. Make no mistake: Hostile nations such as China and Russia have demonstrated that they are ready to fill any trade vacuum that we leave.
With two historic trade deals on the horizon, it’s time for Congress to pass a standalone renewal of TPA. America’s interests and future South Carolina jobs are on the line.
Ellen Weaver is president & CEO of Palmetto Policy Forum.
