Donohue Delivers Address on Trade at the Great Lakes Bay Regional Chamber Summit

Calls for Ambitious Trade Agenda to Drive Growth and Create Jobs

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Thomas J. Donohue today delivered the keynote address at the Great Lakes Bay Regional Chamber Summit in Midland, Michigan. Speaking to an audience of more than 600 local chamber members and business owners of all sizes, Donohue discussed the Chamber's 2012 American Jobs and Growth Agenda, focusing on the need to expand trade, which would support millions of new American jobs.

“At its best, our recovery has been sluggish—with growth nowhere near the pace needed to curb the unemployment crisis that has kept thousands of people in this state and millions of Americans barely scraping by,” said Donohue at the event.

“Trade is no longer an optional luxury—it’s an economic imperative. Washington is going to have to inject more ambition in our trade agenda. We must create global opportunities for trade so businesses can create local opportunities for American workers.”

Donohue outlined the Chamber’s ambitious trade agenda, which includes completing a trade agreement with Asian partners, beginning talks on a new transatlantic trade pact with the EU, and pursuing new trade deals with emerging countries around the world.

• Asian Opportunities
  “Two billion Asians have joined the middle class in the last 20 years, and they love American goods and services. That’s why U.S. trade with East Asia reached nearly $1 trillion last year. There’s more growth in the pipeline. One way to tap our trade potential is to pass the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) with Asian markets. We need an ambitious TPP agreement with high standards that will create jobs, spur growth, and raise living standards, and that will strengthen our nation’s commercial, strategic, and geopolitical ties across the region.”
• Transatlantic Trade
  “Last year the Chamber called for a Transatlantic Economic and Trade Pact to eliminate tariffs, ensure compatible regulatory regimes, and address investment, services, and procurement. Simply eliminating tariffs would boost U.S.-EU trade by more than $120 billion within five years. Next week, President Obama will be meeting with European leaders at Camp David. In conjunction with the European business community, we’ve been urging our leaders to announce plans to negotiate such an agreement. For the sake of jobs and growth, it’s time to fully leverage our partnership with the EU.”
• New Partners for FTAs
  “The United States needs to quickly follow up on the completion of our recent free trade agreements with Colombia, South Korea, and Panama by negotiating new deals with additional partners. Brazil, Egypt, India, and Indonesia are all examples of countries with bright economic prospects and rising geopolitical importance. However, in each case a great deal of work would need to be undertaken before negotiations could begin. To do any of these things, Congress must renew Trade Promotion Authority.  The executive branch needs to be able to negotiate trade agreements that won’t be picked apart by Congress. Instead, they must be subject to an up or down vote. That’s the only way our trading partners will seriously negotiate with the United States.”
• Investment, Travel, and Tourism
  “Let’s stop overlooking the extraordinary benefits of expanding tourism and business travel to the United States. We need to better promote America as a premier travel destination and put out the welcome mat for foreign visitors. Because when tourists spend money here, it’s counted as an export. So let’s make visiting and investing in the United States more convenient and desirable, without compromising security.”
• Ex-Im Bank
  “Congress also needs to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank, which is set to expire this month. For small businesses that may be hesitant to export because of capital limitations, the Ex-Im Bank can be an important resource. It helps provide export financing for U.S. companies in foreign markets where commercial financing is hard to come by. And, it’s a good taxpayer investment. Over the past six years, it has pumped more than $4 billion into the Treasury. When other countries are providing their own exporters with an estimated $1 trillion in export finance, failure to reauthorize Ex-Im would amount to unilateral disarmament and cost tens of thousands of American jobs.”
• Russia PNTR
  “Congress must grant Russia Permanent Normal Trade Relations. To join the World Trade Organization, Russia had to commit to further open its market, protect intellectual property, and safeguard foreign investors. American workers, farmers, and companies won’t get the full benefits of these reforms unless Congress acts.”

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations.