|
 |
|
|
|
Points of View: Free trade means new economic opportunities |
|
|
|
Written On: March/April 2007 |
|
|
|
Written By: by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers |
|
|
|
Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Colville, has represented Washington’s 5th Congressional District since 2005. Her committee assignments include Armed Services, Natural Resources and Education and Labor.
The economic development of eastern Washington can be largely attributed to trade. In 1810, a fur-trappers’ post called the Spokane House was established. For 16 years it was a major commercial center and served as the headquarters for fur trading between the Rocky Mountains and the Cascades. This small trading post became the thriving community of Spokane and sparked new settlements in the region.
Trade continues to be a crucial factor for our present and future economic well-being. In order for our entrepreneurs to be successful, they need access to capital, lower taxes, lower regulatory burdens and a skilled workforce. They also need open markets, since more than 90 percent of world consumers are now outside the United States.
Washington is the most trade-dependent state in the nation. Trade contributes to one in every three jobs in the state. Industries like agriculture, natural resources, and high-tech depend on open markets and stable trading partners.
In eastern Washington, agriculture is a $1.1 billion dollar industry. Typically, farmers and ranchers produce more than the domestic markets demand, making producers dependent on export markets to maintain prices and revenue. Agriculture accounts for more than 15 percent of all exports from our state.
Commodities grown in eastern Washington are exported worldwide. More than 85 percent of the state’s wheat crop is exported to countries like Japan, Korea, Pakistan, Egypt and Thailand. The Palouse region is the dry pea and lentil capital of the world, shipping 250,000 tons to 90 countries. Washington’s famous apples are available in all 50 states and in more than 40 countries.
Congress must continue to find new trade opportunities and expand international markets for farmers and ranchers. If we don’t do this, our agriculture production will decline. Our producers face steep worldwide agricultural tariffs on their exports, currently averaging 62 percent. Meanwhile, the United States has one of the lowest agricultural import tariff structures in the world, averaging only 12 percent.
Trade helps more than agriculture. Companies throughout eastern Washington look to foreign markets to sell their goods and products. Increasingly, local manufacturers have chosen to expand into newly developing international markets. Itron, a high-tech company in Spokane specializing in meter technology, greatly benefited from the Central American Free Trade Agreement passed by Congress. About 25 percent of their international sales are in the CAFTA region. Without this and other trade agreements, Itron would have continued to be at a disadvantage in competing with European non-tariff countries.
Trade agreements are the best way to ensure that American products have the opportunity to compete for new and expanding foreign markets. Our producers have been unfairly denied access to markets around the world for too long. Trade agreements between the United States and foreign countries help reduce barriers and increase access to open markets, boosting the economies of both nations. They also contribute to increased development, infrastructure and improved conditions in these countries.
Since 2001, Congress has approved free-trade agreements with 12 countries. U.S. exports to these free-trade partner countries have since risen by almost a third, from $32.1 billion to $42.3 billion—an annual export growth rate twice as fast as the average growth of U.S. exports to non-partner countries.
Foreign trade has been a significant part of eastern Washington’s economy for many decades, and it will continue to be important to the growth of the state’s products, technology and innovation. As we expand to new markets worldwide, trade will bring new opportunities, create jobs and provide economic security for many generations to come.
|
|
|
|
