International Trade Essential To Future Jobs

by Gary Toebben

In 1926, the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce sponsored a celebration of International Trade that became a predictor of the future. That celebration, World Trade Week, was intended to open the eyes of Angelenos to the international trade opportunities that awaited L.A. businesses. Other metropolitan areas soon followed our lead and in 1935 President Franklin Roosevelt declared World Trade Week as worthy of national recognition. On May 5, 2015, the Chamber will sponsor its 89th annual World Trade Week Kick-off Breakfast at the Beverly Hilton.

In 1926, very few American businesses were importing or exporting but the Chamber saw international trade as a unique growth opportunity for businesses located in L.A. County. Today, one out of every five jobs created since the Great Recession owe their existence to companies that export their goods and services around the globe. The economic recovery America is enjoying today is directly related to our ability to compete globally.

In 1926, the American economy was largely self-dependent. Today, 95 percent of America’s potential customers live outside the United States and 80 percent of the world’s purchasing power is in nations outside the United States. In addition, companies that export their products globally pay wages and salaries that are 18 percent higher than businesses that do not export. 

When our delegation of 190 members traveled to Washington, D.C. two weeks ago, stimulating international trade was high on our agenda. Four key proposals are being debated at this time and the Chamber voiced its support for all four: Trade Promotion Authority for the President of the United States, the Trans Pacific Partnership with 12 Asian nations, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership with the European Union and the reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank. 

President Obama and his cabinet secretaries are cris-crossing America in support of these proposals. Our delegation to Washington, D.C. heard personally from U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman, Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Sarah Bloom Raskin, Senior Advisor Valorie Jarret and representatives of Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker and SBA Administrator Maria Contreras Sweet. 

California’s key location on the Pacific Rim, will make our state, our businesses and our workers major beneficiaries of these four pieces of legislation. The Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce would have supported these proposals in 1926 and we support them today. 

And that's The Business Perspective.