Re: Free trade? Let's call a spade a spade.
Free trade.
Why don’t we call a spade a spade?
We should rename ‘free trade’. Because it isn’t free and it isn’t fair. Since it’s trade that’s regulated in favor of multinational special interest groups, why don’t we call it for what it is: How about ‘rigged market trade’ or ‘turn your back on your fellow countrymen trade’ or ‘throw American workers out on the street trade’. Why are we so afraid to call a spade a spade?
If we don’t stem the tide of multinationalism through trade law reform, then of about 140 million US jobs, between 42 and 56 million of them could be moved off-shore within 20 years: all 14 million current jobs in manufacturing and 28 million jobs in the service sector. We’ll be left without any manufacturing at all, which is at the core of our country’s national security.
Members of our association, The Tooling, Manufacturing & Technologies Association (TMTA) wonder if things will change in time. They know that most of their woes emanate from disastrous trade laws that have been written in Washington DC. Our members wonder if elected officials even care.
Corporate greed feeds on itself and US manufacturing suffers. Multinationalists who drive the global economy have distanced themselves from the social contract, no longer relying on secure employment and rising standards of living to bolster consumer spending. Corporate greed has gotten so out of hand that there is no longer a philosophical agreement, even amongst themselves, that it is in their own self interest to promote a stable society by securing the safety net. How do they justify themselves?
We have to ask ourselves the question, even in our capitalistic society, ‘How much is too much’? Well, in terms of what? Answer: In terms of everything.
I suppose there are some who are reading this who are thinking that this article is leaning a little to the left. Well, actually, it’s not. Increasingly, trade policy and the effects of multinationalism are not partisan issues. The vast majority of Republicans now have serious concerns about our current trade policies because they see these trade policies as being harmful to the middle class and working families of this country, according to a new WALL STREET JOURNAL-NBC NEWS poll.
Most of manufacturing’s problems, your problems, my problems, are as a result of bad trade laws. When the grassroots electorate of this country becomes engaged in this fight, we’ll change bad ‘free’ trade laws into good ‘fair’ trade laws that will reflect the interests of small manufacturers who’ve been absent from trade policy deliberations far too long. By the way, that’s what the Tooling, Manufacturing & Technologies Association is all about. That’s what we do. We very aggressively advocate, politically, on behalf of small manufacturers, in Washington DC. The TMTA doesn’t host lunches or dinners. We’re not a social or networking association. We’re very serious advocates for small manufacturers like you who need our association now more than ever. We confront government officials who have substantial authority, those who chair and sit on committees and sub-committees that influence trade law. The TMTA identifies which elected representatives favor improved trade policy, or not. And we let our members know how they vote. We educate grassroots citizens and local opinion leaders. And, you can find more about us by going to THETMTA.COM. And joining us.
Congress must create a National Trade Commission. Congress must pass currency manipulation legislation. Congress must address the unfair advantage caused by the rebate of VAT taxes by passing a border equalization tax. Congress has to enact countervailing duty laws. Congress has to pass laws that standardize Rules of Origin. They have to pass laws that address infrastructure imbalances including regulatory standards and enforcement standards.
Right now, leading into this up-coming general election cycle, we have the real opportunity to make change. Politicians are up for election or re-election. They usually become sensitive to the wants and needs of their constituents right before an election. Rather than accepting lip-service, however, the TMTA has aligned itself with other organizations like the Organization for Competitive Markets and the Coalition for a Prosperous America, like-minded groups that are actually holding politicians’ feet to the fire relative to trade reform issues. (In the last election cycle held two years ago, 15 politicians who were manufacturing-unfriendly and electorally vulnerable were targeted for defeat. And the ‘kill rate’ was 15 out of 15.) We intend to follow that model in this election cycle. Politicians who have been in the pockets of the corporate-controlled multinationals are on notice. We are going to do what we can to defeat them for the sake of manufacturing.
Since January 2007, when our association went national to answer the need for small manufacturers to be represented honestly in Washington DC, we have grown from representing 21,000 member employees to now representing 50,500 member employees in 22 states. And counting. This remarkable growth shows that small manufacturers want, need, and value advocacy at the federal level. The stronger our association becomes, the more clout we have in the halls of power in Washington DC. Why don’t you join us? We need your help and support.
Brian Sullivan is Director of Sales, Marketing & Communications for the Tooling, Manufacturing & Technologies Association and can be reached at brian@thetmta.com or by telephone at 248.488.0300 x1307.