Electronics industry association's campaign on Congress seeks U.S. jobs creation
By Manufacturing Business Technology Staff -- Manufacturing Business Technology, 10/4/2007 12:19:00 PM
TheConsumer Electronics Association (CEA) is in the midst of a multifaceted campaign urging Congress to reject protectionism and pass trade agreements that could expand the economy and create new American jobs.
"Many of the two million Americans employed by the consumer electronics industry have jobs because their company expanded through overseas sales," says CEA President and CEO Gary Shapiro. "We cannot let protectionist fears hold us back from doing what a great nation does: competing and winning in a global economy."
Trade is a vital component of the expansion of the U.S. consumer electronics industry. Of the two million American jobs in the industry, hundreds of thousands are connected to international trade. In addition, nearly half of CEA's 2,100 member companies assert that exporting to a new market within the next 12 months is part of their business plan. Of CEA's members, 80 percent are small and midsize companies with revenues of $30 million or less. For companies of this size in particular, trade is crucial for business growth and domestic job creation.
"We are entering a critical juncture as Congress considers pending trade agreements and the 2008 presidential election focuses on the United States' place in the world," says Shapiro. "We can retreat, erect trade barriers, and lose our competitive edge—or use trade as an opportunity to grow our economy and provide new and better-paying jobs to our workers."
CEA called on Congress to pursue a pro-growth trade policy that includes:
Pursue bilateral trade agreements.
In the absence of an agreement in the Doha Round of the World Trade Organization (WTO), bilateral trade agreements offer the next best way to open foreign markets to U.S. small businesses. Trade agreements create sales opportunities, reduce costs, and diminish uncertainties. Trade agreements allow implementing t intellectual property rights standards, establishing substantive investment protections, and providing increased transparency to U.S. exporters. CEA is urging Congress to pass the Peru, Colombia, Panama and Korea Free Trade Agreements.
Reauthorize trade promotion authority.
Without trade promotion authority our trading partners will be reluctant to negotiate trade pacts with the U.S. America's hands will be tied, and the U.S. will fall behind other nations negotiating trade agreements at an unprecedented pace.
Eliminate nontariff barriers.
Nontariff barriers hinder trade and burden small companies with unnecessary compliance costs. Examples include cumbersome customs regulations, corrupt government procurement processes, and most recently, a proliferation of divergent or nonharmonized approaches to environmental standards.
Uphold and enforce trade agreements.
In addition to pursuing new agreements, the U.S. must commit to maintaining and enforcing those agreements already in place. The U.S. must take an aggressive stance to protect products already covered by the WTO's Information Technology Agreement (ITA). The ITA covers more than 97 percent of the world trade in IT products, and provides for the elimination of duties on those covered products. But as technology has evolved, many countries claim that the ITA does not apply to the next generation of covered products. It is crucial for the United States to uphold provisions of the ITA that allow for future developments of IT products and enable companies to enjoy the full scope of the agreements intended duty-free benefits.
