JOHN LINDER: “as Americans struggle with economic uncertainty, Congress seeks to stimulate our stalled economy and create new jobs.…”

“as Americans struggle with economic uncertainty, Congress seeks to stimulate our stalled economy and create new jobs. However, I daresay that many of my colleagues have overlooked one of the most consistent and dependable solutions available, one that Congress has the ability to foster: Trade. Recent studies have found that if global trade barriers were cut by one-third, the world economy would increase by more than $600 billion a year. Eliminating trade barriers altogether would increase the global economy by nearly $2 trillion. The infusion of this much capital into the world market would serve as an engine of economic growth and improve the standard of living for all Americans. Also, it would be unwise to ignore the fact that, since 1990, more than 20 million new jobs have been created in the United States. It is not merely coincidental that this increase corresponds to the enactment of trade agreements such as NAFTA and GATT. In fact, trade has stimulated job creation, resulting not only in new jobs, but in higher wages in those jobs supported by exports. As we seek to alleviate economic hardship, the U.S. must look beyond our borders to increase interaction with our trading partners, and Congress can facilitate this by supporting trade promotion authority.”