On Trade - America Left Behind
by Brad Peck
With the European Union concluding agreements with Panama and Colombia, here is a good reminder from Ana Guevara in the Miami Herald:
President Obama called for a doubling of exports over the next five years in his State of the Union Address. His recess appointment of Florida's own Francisco Sanchez to the post of Undersecretary of International Trade for the U.S. Department of Commerce was an essential step to get things moving in the right direction. On May 6, Sanchez met with local businesses in Miami and outlined his five-point plan to help drive the doubling of exports. His teams at the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service and International Trade Administration will play an important role in helping U.S. businesses take advantage of overseas opportunities. But these efforts will be hampered without the speedy passage of the United States' three pending Free Trade Agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea.
World City, a local media company, ranks these countries among South Florida's top trading partners -- 3rd, 18th and 30th respectively. And The World Bank's recently published 2010 Economic Forecast for Latin America, ``From global collapse to recovery,'' shows that Latin America's rebound from the economic crisis is one of the world's strongest (average 4 percent GDP growth), after Asia (at 10 percent). And Colombia and Panama will be among the top performers in Latin America...World Bank President Robert Zoellick recently said at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars that, ``the developing world is becoming a driver of the global economy. Much of the recovery in world trade has been due to strong demand for imports among developing countries . . . they accounted for more than half of the increase in world import demand since 2000.''
...The numbers are compelling. It's time we put politics behind us. All sides agree export-led growth is an important driving factor for U.S. economic prosperity. The time is now.
Comments