With 95 percent of the world’s consumers outside U.S. borders, there is simply no denying the tremendous economic impact of international trade, both here in New England and throughout the U.S. These markets must be cultivated in order to sustain economic growth, stimulate innovation and increase our region’s global competitiveness. If the U.S. does not tap into these foreign markets, there is no doubt our competitors around the globe certainly will.
In 2014 alone, the value of goods exported from businesses in New England was more than $56 billion, supporting over 264,000 jobs. Here in Rhode Island, nearly 1,800 companies export their products. In 2014, $2.4 billion in goods were exported from the Ocean State, with more than 13,000 jobs supported by exports.
The state’s leading manufacturing export in 2014 was chemicals, with $375 million in products exported.
As our government works to increase access to foreign markets through free-trade agreements, these numbers will only grow. Currently, there are two major multilateral trade agreements being negotiated, both of which could reap tremendous economic benefit for the New England region.
One critical first step to finalizing these agreements is the passage of legislation granting Trade Promotion Authority. TPA allows the president to negotiate international trade agreements that Congress can approve or disapprove on a simple “up-or-down” vote. Without TPA, the U.S. is at a disadvantage at the negotiating table. In order to facilitate these and other trade pacts, assurances must exist that there will not be changes to the agreements as they are enacted.
The recent passage of legislation granting TPA by the U.S. Senate is a tremendous step in the right direction.
The bill passed by the Senate includes rules for negotiation that will ensure that many of the concerns surrounding possible negative impacts of trade agreements will be appropriately addressed.
It is estimated that approval of the two multilateral agreements would open up markets comprising some two-thirds of the world’s gross domestic product. That’s not an opportunity we can afford to pass up on, but the fact of the matter is, we need Trade Promotion Authority to get there.
The New England Council is hopeful that the House will take action in the coming weeks to pass TPA. Doing so will give businesses of all types and sizes throughout our region increased access to foreign markets, enabling them to grow and create new jobs, and encouraging them to innovate and compete globally. Expanded international trade presents a world of opportunity for New England – opportunities we surely do not want to miss. •
