The key to success
Free trade helps Arkansas
Politicians looking for ways to create jobs in Arkansas and grow our economy have a lot of plans. There’s one sure-fire way to help our state’s economy grow: free trade.
I realize that this may be surprising to some. The idea of free trade is controversial, but it shouldn’t be. We all benefit from trade. While many Arkansans have gardens, few grow every bit of their own food. We work, earn money, and then buy our food at the grocery store or farmers market. We purchase transportation, clothes, and almost everything else we use in similar fashion, trading our money for something we need or want.
Trade is the basis of our modern life, even if we don’t recognize it.
This trade often crosses borders. Companies and individuals around the globe sell to Arkansas consumers and buy from Arkansas businesses. These suppliers and customers provide huge benefits to everyone in our state.
International trade is important to Arkansas; for example in 2013, the value of Arkansas exports was over $7.1 billion. That’s a lot of money from international consumers coming into our state’s economy. These consumers are in almost every nation of the world, as Arkansas products are sold in 184 countries.
It’s not just big companies selling to overseas consumers. According to the Chamber of Commerce, 75 percent of the state’s exporters are small or medium-sized businesses.
We often hear a lot about the need to revitalize manufacturing in Arkansas. If you support this, then you should support international trade. Manufacturing makes up 90 percent of what Arkansas exports. More trade will almost certainly mean a boost for the state’s manufacturing sector.
International trade certainly benefits Arkansas businesses and their workers. But it also benefits consumers. We all pay lower prices for products thanks to trade. International competition reduces the cost to consumers, putting more money in our pockets. The Business Roundtable estimates that the average Arkansas family of four saves over $10,000 a year thanks to the economic effects of free-trade policies.
Trade helps Arkansas businesses, too. Business owners rely heavily on imports to lower their production cost, enabling them to stay in business. In fact, over 60 percent of our nation’s imports are products purchased by businesses. Most of the companies that rely on imports are small businesses with fewer than 20 employees. These foreign inputs and materials are an important way that Arkansas businesses, especially smaller ones, stay competitive in a global economy.
According to the Business Roundtable, this foreign trade—both imports and exports—supports over 325,000 Arkansas jobs. That’s more than one in five jobs in our state. Between 2004 and 2011, these trade-related jobs grew at a rate that was eight-and-a-half times faster than the rate of total job creation.
Of course, foreign trade isn’t only good for our pocketbook. It also provides intangible benefits.
Our lives are better off if we have access to a variety of products from around the world. Oranges in January, a fine French wine, and access to a James Bond film are only a few of the many ways trade improves our quality of life.
Members of Congress need to recognize just how important free trade is to Arkansas and the U.S. They should fight to lower barriers that prevent consumers from having a wide choice of goods wherever on the globe they are produced. And Congress should work to ensure that Arkansas businesses can sell their goods and services freely around the world.
We have an opportunity to make progress now by finalizing negotiations and then passing the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a free-trade agreement among the U.S. and 11 Pacific Rim countries. The election of several new Republican U.S. Senators means we can hope for action on free trade, a policy which creates jobs and lowers prices here, enriching the lives of Arkansans.