
CONGRESSIONAL TESTIMONY
________________________________________________________________________
Testimony Before
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Subcommittee on Terrorism,
Nonproliferation, and Trade
April 24, 2008
Daniella
Markheim
Jay Van Andel
Senior Analyst in Trade Policy
Center for
International Trade and Economics
The Heritage
Foundation
My name is Daniella Markheim. I am the Jay Van Andel Senior Analyst in Trade Policy at The Heritage Foundation. The views I express in this testimony are my own and should not be construed as representing any official position of The Heritage Foundation.
The
interagency Trade Promotion Coordination Committee (TPCC) is required by the
Export Enhancement Act of 1992 “to develop a government-wide strategic plan for
carrying out Federal export promotion and export financing programs” and to
submit to Congress annual reports describing the plan and how TPCC member
agencies will implement the strategy.[1] The 2007 National Export Strategy is the
latest plan describing the year’s government priorities of supporting
e-commerce as a means of boosting exports, promoting greater participation of
small and medium-sized firms in exporting activities, and advancing key
projects in “priority” markets—China, India, and Brazil.[2]
While the document lays out more of an agenda of key priorities than a coordinated
strategy for implementing agencies to follow, it does provide a look back over
the previous year at what activities were accomplished by the agencies to give
a general sense of how well they met high-level objectives.
The
value of such export-promotion activities to the
Fortunately,
the annual strategy gives a nod to the contribution of free trade agreements
(FTAs) to such a strategy. One need look no further than the chapter on the
impact of trade liberalization and an Appendix tucked in at the end of the
document to see the most effective policy answer to advancing exports: freer
trade.
Free
Trade: The
Ideally,
free trade would be achieved without any negotiations at all. So pervasive are
the benefits of trade liberalization for the country doing the liberalization that
countries would be smart to lower their protectionist barriers on their own,
irrespective of what other countries do. It is true that the more widespread
such liberalization becomes, the greater the benefits for all, and multilateral
trade negotiations, which seem to provide valuable political cover to help
politicians do what is best for their country, should be encouraged. However,
as the current round of global trade talks ably demonstrates, the pace of such
negotiations is slow, and consensus can be hard to achieve.
Yet the expected benefits of a meaningful conclusion to the
current Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations make the effort to reach
agreement worthwhile. Numerous studies have estimated
the potential gains under various trade-liberalization scenarios. While their
results and methodologies differ, these studies consistently show that real
economic gains are associated with further trade liberalization:
·
The Institute for
International Economics has calculated that moving from today’s trade environment
to one characterized by perfectly free trade and investment would generate an
additional $500 billion in annual income for the
·
A
·
The World Bank estimates
that the continued reduction of tariffs on manufactured goods, the elimination
of subsidies and non-tariff barriers, and a modest 10 percent to 15 percent
reduction in global agricultural tariffs would allow developing countries to
gain nearly $350 billion in additional income by 2015. Developed countries
would stand to gain roughly $170 billion.[5]
FTAs
negotiated by smaller groups of countries are the next best thing to promote
global trade liberalization.[6] FTAs can
provide institutional competition to help keep multilateral talks on track and
provide the
Free
trade agreements can also help developing countries to lock in and effectively
implement economic and political reforms, spur regional integration, and
enhance prospects for investment and economic growth. While some of the
As of
the beginning of 2008, the
Even
though the agreements with
In the
first year of the U.S.–Singapore FTA,
Increased
trade is just part of the gains stemming from free trade agreements.
Economy-wide,
the net number of jobs displaced each year by international trade is estimated
to be no more than a relatively small 3 percent of the workforce.[11] Far more important in changing the
composition of
Any
negative impact that freer trade may have on job numbers is mitigated by the
benefits that trade brings to the economy as a whole. While production may fall
in less competitive industries, exporters and domestic producers that use lower-cost
imported inputs gain a competitive boost that promotes investment,
productivity, and growth in these industries. Lower prices for imported goods
also help households to stretch their incomes, enabling them to buy more of
everything, including goods and services that are produced domestically. With
freer trade, resources flow from less competitive uses to more competitive and
efficient uses, creating opportunity and bolstering long-run economic growth
and job creation.
U.S.
FTAs generally strengthen the transparent and efficient flow of goods,
services, and investments between member countries. Trade agreements open
markets, protect investors, and increase economic opportunity and prosperity.
In short, free trade agreements serve to promote
Federal Export-Promotion Activities
In
2007, the enacted budget authority for the Trade Promotion Coordinating
Committee was $1.37 billion.[13] These
taxpayer dollars go toward the financing of numerous endeavors aimed at
boosting U.S. exports, including education, data collection and dissemination, international
trade missions, business services, and market research. While some of these
activities certainly add value, much of what is being accomplished can be and is
being done better by trade associations, business coalitions, and private
business.
In
fact, the importance of the private sector in enabling the national export-promotion
strategy is stated time and again throughout the report. The “Strategic
Partnership Initiative” is designed to enhance cooperation between the private
sector, exporters, and government at all levels. Recognizing that “the Federal
government simply lacks the resources, marketing channels, and points of
contact with businesses to reach most companies,” the Partnership will ideally
lead to a phaseout of government involvement in many of these activities.[14]
The
Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and the Export–Import Bank of
the United States (Ex–Im Bank) may not directly cost U.S. taxpayers as much as
other export-promotion programs do today; however, they do impose significant
indirect costs on the economy as a whole and run the risk of costing taxpayers
in the future. Both programs should be eliminated.
OPIC. First
established in 1971, OPIC today
provides
The Overseas
Private Investment Corporation’s (OPIC) mission is to mobilize and facilitate
the participation of
OPIC’s rationale
rests on the perception that it can help fill the demand for international
financing that the private sector is unwilling to chance while at the same time
boosting U.S. exports. Although it may have been the case that financial
markets and financial instruments were less able to fulfill development
requirements in the 1970s, today’s markets are far more robust.
In fact, the
The impact on development itself is
also questionable. Because OPIC effectively transfers the risk of an investment
venture from the company involved to taxpayers, commercial investment levels
will be higher than would otherwise be the case based on market conditions
alone. While this seems to support the development component of OPIC’s mission,
it in fact promotes the continuation of poor economic policymaking in
developing countries. Investment that effectively promotes long-term development
occurs as a consequence of sound economic reform, not as a reward for poor economic
management.
The Export–Import Bank. Much like OPIC, the Ex–Im
Bank was designed to provide financial services when private trade financing is
unavailable to support an international transaction. It was created in 1934 as
Government subsidies promote neither
Both OPIC and the Ex–Im Bank date from a time when the United States
economy was far more insular than it is at present—a time when foreign
investment and foreign trade were truly exotic and potentially high-risk
undertakings. In the age of globalization, the exotic has become commonplace,
and the risks of exports and foreign investment, while perhaps not quite the same
as operating in the
If we have learned anything from the recent crisis in the sub-prime
lending markets, it is that risk needs to be fully accounted for, and fully
acknowledged, in pricing investment options. U.S. Government programs that
subsidize risk offer above-market returns, in effect privatizing gains while
potentially socializing losses. They are not an efficient or necessary use of
taxpayer resources.
Recommendations
In
general, policymakers looking to bolster
Instead,
the following recommendations embody some of the more important elements of a
successful
1. Advance freer trade policies. Advancing freer trade through a comprehensive and
substantive conclusion to the Doha Round of trade negotiations and ratification
of the three pending free trade agreements with
·
The
agreement would help lock in
·
The
U.S.–Panama TPA will open Panamanian markets to
Approval
of the U.S.–Panama trade deal would also support further improvements in
·
In
general,
By
formalizing bilateral economic ties with
2. Continue to promote trade capacity building and
facilitation, as well as regulatory improvements.
Of the various activities advanced in the 2007 National Export Strategy, member agency efforts focused on providing
technical assistance to developing countries to enhance trade capacity and
improve the practices and policies supporting international trade in these
countries are in line with advancing development goals. As developing countries
are able to better engage global goods and services markets, the real potential
for trade expansion around the world is improved.
3. Continue to work through multilateral and other
channels to address anti-competitive and protectionist policies that limit
trade flows, with the aim of eliminating such practices rather than relying on
retaliation. Claims that
Conclusion
The
TPCC’s 2007
National Export Promotion Strategy
illuminates some of the best and worst of
Ultimately,
the best export-promotion strategy is one that fosters ever freer trade: More
than half a century of gradual trade liberalization has helped to raise
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[1] Sec. 2312 (a) (2) of the Export Enhancement Act of 1992, 15 V. C. ~ 4727 (a)(2). Member agencies are the U.S. Department of Commerce, Export–Import Bank of the United States, Overseas Private Investment Corporation, U.S. Trade and Development Agency, U.S. Small Business Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of Treasury, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, U.S. Agency for International Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Management and Budget, National Security Council/National Economic Council, and Council of Economic Advisers.
[2] Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee, The 2007 National Export Strategy, at http://www.ita.doc.gov/media/Publications/pdf/nes2007FINAL.pdf (April 22, 2008).
[3] Gary Clyde Hufbauer and Paul L. E. Grieco, “The
Payoff from Globalization,” The
[4] Drusilla K. Brown, Alan V. Deardorff, and Robert M. Stern, “Multilateral, Regional, and Bilateral Trade-Policy Options for the United States and Japan,” University of Michigan, Research Seminar in International Economics, Discussion Paper No. 490, December 2002, and “Computational Analysis of Multilateral Trade Liberalization in the Uruguay Round and Doha Development Round,” University of Michigan, Research Seminar in International Economics, Discussion Paper No. 489, December 2002.
[5] World
Bank, Global Economic Prospects 2004: Realizing the Development Promise of
the
[6] Edward Hudgins, “Regional and Multilateral Trade Agreements: Complementary Means to Open Markets,” Cato Journal, Vol. 15, No. 23 (Fall/Winter 1995/96); Fred Bergsten, “Open Regionalism,” Institute for International Economics Working Paper No. 97, 1997.
[7] Office of the United States Trade Representative, “Bilateral Trade Agreements,” at http://www.ustr.gov/Trade_Agreements/Bilateral/Section_Index.html (April 8, 2008).
[8] Based on calculations using data from the TradeStats Express National Trade database, at http://tse.export.gov/ITAHome.aspx?UniqueURL=02dxjrynb2mvcgerd5jd2k55-2008-4-9-3-22-49 (April 8, 2008).
[9] Office of the United States Trade Representative, The 2008 Trade Policy Agenda and 2007 Annual Report, at http://www.ustr.gov/assets/Document_Library/Reports_Publications/2008/2008_Trade_Policy_Agenda/asset_upload_file649_14563.pdf (April 8, 2008).
[10] Office
of the United States Trade Representative, “Free Trade Agreements Are Working
for
[11] Daniel Griswold, “Trading Up: How Expanding Trade Has Delivered Better Jobs and Higher Living Standards for American Workers,” Cato Institute Trade Policy Analysis No. 36, October 25, 2007, at www.freetrade.org/node/782. Similar results were derived on 2003 jobs statistics in Erica L. Groshen, Bart Hobijn, and Margaret M. McConnell, “U.S. Jobs Gained and Lost through Trade: A Net Measure,” Federal Reserve Bank of New York, August 2005, at www.ny.frb.org/research/current_issues/ci11-8/ci11-8.html (April 8, 2008).
[12] Council of Economic Advisers, Economic Report of the President 2007, p. 169.
[13] Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee, The 2007 National Export Strategy, Appendix B, at http://www.ita.doc.gov/media/Publications/pdf/nes2007FINAL.pdf (April 22, 2008).
[14] Ibid., p. 76.
[15] Overseas Private Investment Corporation, “About Us,” at http://www.opic.gov/about/mission/index.asp (April 22, 2008).
[16] Marilyn Ibarra and Jennifer Koncz, “Direct Investment Positions for 2006—Country and Industry Detail,” Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce, July 2007, p. 34, at http://www.bea.gov/scb/pdf/2007/07%20July/0707_dip_article.pdf.
[17] Ibid.
[18] Overseas Private Investment Corporation, 2006 Annual Report, “2006 Investment Activities,” at http://www.opic.gov/pdf/OPIC_AR.pdf (April 22, 2008).
[19] James K. Jackson, “OPIC: Employment and Other Economic Effects,” Congressional Research Service Report for Congress, May 23, 1997.
[20] International Trade Administration, “U.S.–Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement Sectoral Benefits: Overview of Sectoral Benefits,” at http://export.gov/fta/Colombia/SectoralInfo.asp?dName=Colombia (April 8, 2008).
[21] U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Service, “U.S.-Colombia
Trade Promotion Agreement: Fact Sheet,” February 2008, at http://www.fas.usda.gov/info/factsheets/Colombia/colombia1pager07.pdf
(April 8, 2008).
[22] U.S. International Trade Commission, “U.S.–Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement: Potential Economy-wide and Selected Sectoral Effects,” Investigation No. TA-2104-023, USITC Publication 3896, December 2006.
[23] Office of the United States Trade Representative, “The Case for the U.S.–Panama Trade Promotion Agreement,” August 2007, at http://www.ustr.gov/assets/Document_Library/Fact_Sheets/2007/asset_upload_file192_13310.pdf (April 9, 2008).
[24] International Trade Administration, “U.S.–Panama Trade Promotion Agreement Sectoral Benefits: Overview of Sectoral Benefits,” at http://www.export.gov/fta/Panama/mrktaccess.pdf (April 9, 2008).
[25] U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Service, “U.S.–Panama Trade
Promotion Agreement: Benefits for Agriculture,” July 2007, at http://www.fas.usda.gov/info/factsheets/Panama/Panamaoverall0707.pdf
(April 9, 2008).
[26] U.S. International Trade Commission, “U.S.–Korea Free Trade Agreement: Potential Economy-wide and Selected Sectoral Effects,” Investigation No. TA-2104-24, USITC Publication 3949, September 2007.
[27] International Trade Administration, “U.S.–Korea Free Trade Agreement Market Access Results: Industrial Goods Summary Report,” at http://www.ita.doc.gov/td/tradepolicy/sectorreports_korea.html (April 9, 2008).
[28] U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Service, “U.S.–Korea Free Trade
Agreement: Benefits for Agriculture,” July 2007, at http://www.fas.usda.gov/info/factsheets/korea.asp
(April 9, 2008).
[29] Office
of the United States Trade Representative, “Trade Facts: Free Trade with