On the recordJuly 28, 2010
I'm pleased that we're having this debate today about the importance of trade for America's manufacturing sector. Given my extensive experience in manufacturing, I'm pleased to provide my firsthand familiarity with what makes business successful and what creates jobs. My own experience tells me that international trade is vital to the success of America's manufacturing sector. In my home State of Kentucky, nearly 50,000 manufacturing jobs are dependent on exports. The simple fact is that 95 percent of the world's consumers live outside the United States, and the fastest growing markets are outside our borders. So success in those markets is critical to growing our manufacturing sector and creating good paying jobs. As the President has noted, America's exports of manufactured goods support one out of every five manufacturing jobs, and those jobs pay 15 percent more than average. We simply must increase exports, and that's the key to any debate about the trade deficit.
