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Publication: EFE Agency via Fox News Latino
At this point, you have likely heard arguments from both sides of the debate on whether or not passing trade legislation is good for our country.
As the National Director of the Minority Business Development Agency, I know the power of open and fair trade to strengthen minority enterprise and exponentially increase revenue. Open and fair trade allows us to send our goods and services to the 95% of global consumers who live outside of our borders. That means more high-quality jobs, economic growth, and opportunities to expand the middle class throughout the United States.
But as a Latina whose parents immigrated to the U.S., I am also aware of the impact open and fair trade can have on Hispanic-owned businesses in the United States and the economies of the countries that are the ancestral home of our families. Minority firms in general possess strong export potential because they have familial networks of support, are able to transact business in a language other than English, and are likely to already have international operations.
We have found that Hispanic-owned firms that export actually employ more workers, offer higher average pay, report higher average sales, and are more productive than Hispanic-owned firms that do not export. The numbers say it all – Hispanic-owned businesses that export employ an average of 19 people and report average annual sales of over $8.4 million, as compared to 7 employees on average and $872,000 in average sales at their non-exporting counterparts.
Trade is also great for the countries that some of our family members still call home. Today, Latin American and Caribbean economies collectively represent one of the strongest economic blocs in the world.
These countries are no longer as reliant on the U.S. to build their economies. They need the U.S. to continue supporting growth, and an effective way to do that is through trade. In 2014, total bilateral trade between the U.S. and its partners in Latin America and the Caribbean was $1.1 trillion. That’s an increase of 56 percent from 2009, when it was $705.8 billion.
We can build upon these strong numbers through free trade agreements, and increased U.S. exports because they improve the conditions for broader economic growth in our homelands.
Open and free trade also lifts people out of poverty by creating new opportunities for workers and raising labor standards and incomes abroad. Research suggests that trade has helped decrease poverty by raising wages around the world. Expanding U.S. market access further promotes higher-quality employment in less-developed countries as workers shift from informal to formal employment.
The best way to ensure that exports continue to help people both at home and abroad is through strong, new trade agreements. We have 11 Latin American free trade agreements partners, which represents more than half of our free trade partners globally. Combined, these countries present a market opportunity of more than 270 million consumers. The United States cannot afford to miss that opportunity.
Trade agreements also improve living standards of citizens around the world. Our newer trade agreements require partner countries to reform their laws and practices so that they are consistent with the International Labor Organization’s (ILO) fundamental labor rights. That includes the freedom for workers to create and join federations, and the right to collective bargaining. They also include protection from child and forced labor, and employment discrimination.
We are looking to establish even stronger standards when it comes to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the 11-nation trade agreement that would include three Latin American countries: Mexico, Chile, and Peru.
Admission into TPP will require countries to commit to fundamental labor rights. We are also working to set the world’s highest environmental standards that will be fully enforceable. These commitments between several nations to the same high standards will prevent individual nations from gaining unfair competitive advantages.
All of this proves that trade agreements not only help companies and workers here in the United States, they improve the conditions of workers, businesses, and the economies of the countries where many of our families still live.
But to get trade deals done, particularly TPP, Congress must pass Trade Promotion Authority legislation to give the President and our trade negotiators the ability to advocate on behalf of American businesses and workers, to ensure that free and fair trade agreements level the playing field.
A rising economic tide does lift all boats. The Obama Administration has a shared vision of mutual prosperity for our economic partners in Latin America. Trade promotion legislation and TPP give us the opportunity to continue enhancing and expanding the economy here and the economies around the world - that is good news for all businesses.