Trade has made for an easy target during the campaigns of both Democratic and Republican presidential candidates.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vermont, rode his criticism of “disastrous trade agreements written by corporate America,” to an upset victory in Tuesday’s primary vote in Michigan. Republican front-runner Donald Trump makes similar attacks on trade deals. Even Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton has backed way from her earlier support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the 12-nation pact that is before Congress for an up-or-down vote sometime later this year.
It’s a message that finds a receptive audience in Michigan and other Rust Belt states, and not without reason, following the loss of manufacturing jobs.
But those who attack trade — and the agreements that attempt to make it fair and responsible — should step back for a broader view, say, to Washington state.
A few highlights, courtesy of the state Department of Commerce:
- Exports account for more than 30 percent of the new jobs created in the state over the past 30 years.
- Directly and indirectly, 1 in 3 jobs in the state is tied to trade.
- Washington state exports for 2015 topped $86.4 billion, representing nearly 6 percent of all U.S. exports.
Fortunately, the state’s Congressional delegation has been more supportive.
Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell helped push the Senate to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank after a brief shutdown last summer. And the state’s House delegation voted 7-2, including District 1 and 2 Reps. Suzan DelBene and Rick Larsen, last year to give President Barack Obama authority to wrap up negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
More recently, Obama signed a trade bill into law last month that included measures sought by Larsen to help small businesses increase their exports and improve enforcement of trade agreements.
The legislation provides $30 million to permanently authorize an office responsible for enforcing trade deals and bring cases alleging unfair trade practices before the World Trade Organization.
The legislation also provides $150 million over five years to the State Trade and Export Promotion program, which provides grants for foreign trade missions and sales trips, technical assistance and other expenses to facilitate exports. Previously, STEP has helped more than 450 businesses in Washington state bring in more than $220 million in sales, according to the state Commerce Department, which administers the program here.
One of those, Larsen said, is Warm Industrial Nonwovens, headquartered in Lynnwood, which produces fabric and other material for the aerospace, automotive, clothing and furnishings industries as well as the military. Grants provided to Warm Industrial helped it attend international trade shows and make pitches to Boeing, Airbus, Bombardier and others, resulting in new sales.
Trade is disruptive, and jobs have gone overseas. But businesses, large and small, in our state have responded by manufacturing and growing products that the world wants, often replacing the jobs that were lost with better-paying ones.
Larsen, during a meeting Thursday with The Herald Editorial Board, said he doesn’t expect Congress to take up a vote on the Trans-Pacific Partnership until after the presidential election. There are legitimate issues to be debated and explained regarding the trade pact’s provisions, he said.
“There’s plenty to criticize about trade agreements, but there are also plenty of benefits,” Larsen said.
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