NAM posts weekly trade information service

Staff -- Manufacturing Business Technology, 8/1/2004 6:00:00 AM

Intensifying rancorous debate—both corporate and political—over the impact of international trade relations has prompted the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) to launch a weekly information service posting, called Trade Facts, on its Web site. The service, says NAM, is offered for the edification of lawmakers, the media, and the general public on trade issues "often susceptible to misrepresentation."

One lingering issue in this election year involves NAFTA's perceived role and responsibility for the 2.8 million U.S. jobs lost in manufacturing since 2000. NAM's Trade Factsheet launching the service proclaims unequivocally that NAFTA was not a significant factor in these losses.

Citing U.S. International Trade Commission data, the fact sheet shows imports from Mexico and Canada actually fell between 2000 and 2003, from $295 billion to $281 billion. The reasoning is, if jobs losses here were due to jobs migrated there, we also should have seen an increase in imports from U.S. NAFTA partners.

Instead, NAM faults falling demand, plunging U.S. global exports of manufactured goods, increased productivity, and increased import penetration outside of NAFTA as the real reasons for heavy losses of U.S. manufacturing jobs.

NAM intends to post new Trade Facts once or twice weekly.

U.S. imports of manufactured goods
(in $ billions)

	2000	2003
From Canada	$180	$168
From Mexico	$115	$113
From NAFTA	$295	$281

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