All Talk, No Action On Free Trade
Free Trade: President Obama uttered some fine words Wednesday on the value of export trade. But with no trade pacts on the horizon until after elections, it's just political busywork. What's really needed is courage.
Yes, the president said all the right things Wednesday about boosting exports, opening markets and getting Congress to approve free-trade deals with Colombia, South Korea and Panama.
"(W)e hope to move forward on new agreements with some of our key partners," he said. "And we're focused on submitting them as soon as possible for congressional consideration."
But as good as the speech sounded, it was no more than a reiteration of statements Obama has already made, always promising to get on it, soon. If he wants these treaties passed, he should submit the deals already negotiated and let Congress vote, up or down.
That won't happen. Based on the administration's other statements, these pacts won't get to Congress until November - after the current Democratic Congress is thrown out by the voters.
It doesn't have to be this way. Thirty-nine House Democrats and virtually all the Republicans have indicated their support, and a host of others intend to vote "yes," though they won't say so.
That's why House Speaker Nancy Pelosi refuses to permit any vote on the Colombian pact, which was submitted to Congress two years ago. She doesn't fear it'll fail; she fears it'll pass.
That brings us to the speech on Wednesday in which Obama claimed only a few "glitches" hold up the deals. In fact, the president is just playing to anti-free-trade backers in Big Labor.
For Obama, however, there's now a monster more foreboding than Big Labor. It's called The Economy. Overall joblessness of 9.4% is bad enough. But among blacks, male unemployment is averaging 19.5%, and the 13.2% rate for Latinos is double what it had been most of the decade. Then there's the 52% of young people who can't find work.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce warns that if Congress fails to act on the three pending trade pacts, 585,000 U.S. jobs will be snatched away by rivals such as Canada. That would be a big chunk of the 3.5 million jobs Obama promised to create by year-end.
All this has helped drive down Obama's poll numbers, with just 38% of self-described independent voters rating him favorably. It's also translating into lost business support. Corporate donations dry up as the perception that Obama is anti-business sinks in.
Obama tried to put a good face on his National Export Initiative, noting that exports are up 17% this year. But in reality, as U.S. trade pacts go unpassed and protectionist bones are tossed to unions, the world is moving on without us.
In China, exports expanded 33.2% from January through May, and Colombia's were up 26.6%. Taiwan jumped 49% in the first half, as Germany's rose 28.8% and South Korea added 35%. That's the story with "the world" while the U.S. hobbles along, shut out from the trade the rest of the world is engaging in.
The IMF on Thursday raised its 2010 global growth estimate to 4.6% from 4.2%. But the U.S. is expected to grow 3.3%. For once, we're not leading the world recovery; we're playing catch-up.
Earlier this week, Canada signed a free-trade deal with Colombia that will give our northern neighbor a chance to capture much of the U.S.' $20 billion in Colombia trade.
Obama must put some muscle behind his words on trade. Instead of hiding behind Congress, he needs to step out front and lead. The economy, the world and the voters won't wait.
