President Obama talked persuasively about the importance of workforce training during the White House’s “Winning the Future” forum in Cleveland Tuesday. His remarks came in response to a comment from Roy in Temecula, Calif., which we take to be Roy Paulson of Paulson Manufacturing, a manufacturer of safety equipment and a member of the National Association of Manufacturers’ Board of Directors. From the transcript:

MS. [Sarah] BERNARD: We had a lot of questions come in about — or comments and thoughts about preparing the next-generation workforce. Roy in Temeculah, California, noted: The economy develops in pockets and clusters. Why don’t we match this with our workforce development for the best results? We all know that people have many different jobs over their lifetime, and we need to retrain where and when it’s needed — keep it simple, buy it quickly, keep it local. The local aspect allows easy access for the people that need the training, and it’s tailored to the local environment and conditions.

THE PRESIDENT: Well, the answer is in the question. I think that question is spot on. What you find as you travel around the country is that there’s certain regions that are starting to gain expertise in biotech, or they’re starting to gain expertise in advanced battery manufacturing, or they’re starting to gain expertise in a particular industry which requires a particular skill set. And if we can get businesses to partner with local community colleges or local universities and have them help to design the training process for the jobs that already exist, it’s a win-win.

For the businesses, it means that all their workforce training costs are absorbed somewhere else, which is obviously good for their bottom line.

For the students, what it means is that if you actually go through this program, you know that there’s going to be a job at the end of the day because the employers have actually helped to design the program. And so Skills for America’s Future is a program that we’ve been trying to implement that gets those partnerships between businesses and colleges and universities. (continue reading…)

It was a busy and very positive day for a forward-looking trade policy in Congress, to be sure. Over in the House, Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) called a hearing of the full Ways and Means Committee to examine the importance of passing the pending free trade agreements with Colombia, Korea and Panama, and their impact on job creation and economic growth. The National Association of Manufacturers was represented by Roy Paulson, president of safety equipment manufacturer Paulson Manufacturing, based in Temecula, Calif. Paulson exports to more than 80 countries, including the three with pending FTAs, and he was plain, direct and straightforward in telling the Committee that his exports to those nations will increase once their tariffs are removed with passage of the FTAs. (Prepared testimony.)

The same theme was echoed by all the witnesses at the hearing – themes well familiar to anyone who’s spent time reading this blog. The United States, with very low tariff rates, is open to the world. Many of the fastest-growing markets for our exports have high barriers. Trade agreements remove those barriers, drive U.S. exports and create jobs and economic growth here in America. If we chose to sit on the sidelines, as we have for the past four years, our competitors in Europe, Latin America and Asia will seize these markets with trade agreements of their own. Instead of preferential access for our manufactured goods exports, we will be confirmed as the suppliers of  higher priced goods. Market share will dwindle. Instead of increasing production at home for consumption abroad, we’ll be cutting production and losing markets. That’s a recipe for job losses and economic contraction.

As Cong. Peter Roskam (R-IL) noted at the close of the hearing (relying on notes): “The time to say we’re thinking about these agreements is over. The time to act on them and reap the benefits has arrived.” It is, in fact, well overdue, as anyone who exports to Colombia, Korea or Panama knows. We could have had these barriers down in 2007, well ahead of the competing FTAs our competitors are now rushing to complete. The President and Congress need to move quickly on all three agreements in the first half of 2011. The votes are there, as Trade Subcommittee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) noted at the start of the hearing.

Leaving the House, we move to a bipartisan effort on trade in the Senate, where Rob Portman (R-OH) — who was President Bush’s Trade Representative — and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) introduced a bill today that would move all three agreements AND provide President Obama with Trade Promotion Authority (TPA). (Lieberman and Portman issued a joint news release. (continue reading…)

Roy Paulson, President of Paulson Manufacturing Corporation, is testifying today on behalf of the National Association of Manufacturers before the House Ways and Means Committee, “Hearing on the Pending Free Trade Agreements with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea and the Creation of U.S. Jobs.” 

His prepared statement (available here) talks about the reality of trade and tariffs and how enactment of free trade agreements would expand opportunities for manufacturers and small business. Excerpt:

Take a moment and think of the opportunity these agreements will present to the small business community here in the United States. I have had success selling such varied items as patented eye care products on South Korean cable television to Electrical Safety equipment in Colombia. The security products sold to Panama are a continuing source of repeat business, and safety equipment with a 6 percent duty that will be eliminated will be a viable item as the canal is widened over many years. In addition to my own sales, I encourage other manufactures to sell their products in these countries and freely supply my contacts and experience gained from my years of effort.

In all three countries with pending Free Trade Agreements the reduction in tariffs will have a direct impact on sales of our products. I just spoke to my Korean contact, Bryan Kim, and he is extremely excited about the 8 percent tariff being removed immediately because now he is in a stronger competitive position and the market immediately becomes broader allowing sales into main stream applications. He also commented that the Korean consumer’s perception of US products is one of quality and that the Made in the USA label is very important. He went on further to say that the price is critical and import duties are generally paid by the importer along with the freight charges. Eliminating the eight percent tariff will have a direct and immediate benefit and increased sales.

Colombia is truly a special case in South America. The Free Trade Agreement has been sold to the people as tremendous improvement and everyone is waiting for this to occur. My customers have been paying 20 percent tariffs on hundreds of thousands of dollars of my imported products and this has reduced the range of items that they could purchase from me. In other words, from my broad product offering, only the items that they could not purchase from Europe, Brazil or China were being brought in from the USA. After the agreement we can all begin to enjoy a more competitive environment for my full product range.

Other prepared statements:

• Bob Stallman, President, American Farm Bureau Federation
• Michael L. Ducker, Chief Operating Officer and President, International, FedEx Express
• William J. Toppeta, President, International, MetLife
• Stephen E. Biegun, Corporate Officer and Vice President of International Governmental Affairs, Ford Motor Company
  

The House Ways & Means Committee has posted the witness list for its hearing 10 a.m., Tuesday, “On the Pending Free Trade Agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea and the Creation of U.S. Jobs. ” NAM Board Member Roy Paulson leads things off.

• Roy Paulson, President, Paulson Manufacturing Corporation, on behalf of the National Association of Manufacturers
• Bob Stallman, President, American Farm Bureau Federation
• Michael L. Ducker, Chief Operating Officer and President, International, FedEx Express
• William J. Toppeta, President, International, MetLife
• Stephen E. Biegun, Corporate Officer and Vice President of International Governmental Affairs, Ford Motor Company

Paulson Manufacturing is based in Temecula, Calif. From its website:

Since 1947 we have been providing protective equipment for various industries worldwide. From industrial to fire and rescue, tactical and ballistic verification testing, we have the right products for you. Specializing in face protection, our family owned and operated business consistently delivers quality and innovation to each and every customer.

We’ll post all the testimony when it becomes available on Tuesday.

The hearing is perfectly timed. President Obama delivers his State of the Union address Tuesday evening, and export-driven job growth is expected to be a theme. The president can lend substance to the rhetoric by announcing his intention to submit not just the Korea, but also the pending FTAs with Colombia and Panama to Congress for enactment.

“America’s Business” this week considers economic crises, past and present, with Newsweek and Washington Post columnist Robert J. Samuelson. Bob has written a new book entitled “The Great Inflation and its Aftermath: The Past and Future of American Affluence,” and is on the program this week to share its insights. Contributing to the now-almost forgotten Great Inflation of the 1960s and ‘70s was consistently bad advice from the nation’s economists, Samuelson says, helping to produce bad policies from both parties in the White House.

Europe remains the No.1 trade partner for U.S. manufacturers, and this week we find out how business can receive assistance in exporting to Europe. The program is called Export Europe and is run by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the NAM. Rebecca Balogh, Commercial Attaché, describes the essential steps for forging valuable trade relationships with Europe. Also here to relate first-hand how he achieved success in exporting to Europe is Roy Paulson, President and CEO of Paulson Manufacturing, a protective equipment manufacturer in Temecula, California.

Everyone knows Bayer for its aspirin, but their medicines and products run a broad scale of industrial production. Here to tell us more about the Bayer Corporation is newly appointed CEO for its U.S. operations, Greg Babe. He’ll share with us what Bayer is up to and what the company has planned for the future.

The Erie Canal is nearing 200 years old, and it’s still helping America move its goods, sometimes even faster than highways or rail. We’ll learn about canal history from the NAM’s Hank Cox and his “The Way It Was” and then hear from Rob Goldman of the New York State Marine Highway Transportation Company, which does business on the canal.

And as usual we’ll close the program with “The Last Word” from NAM President John Engler.

For more about “America’s Business with Mike Hambrick” and to listen to the program online please visit www.americasbusiness.org