Earlier today, the NAM sent a letter to the Senate expressing NAM policy positions on the budget resolution (S. Con. Res. 8 ) and its associated amendments. In particular, manufacturers support amendments offered by Senators Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Rob Portman (R-OH) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) to renew trade promotion authority (TPA) and enable the United States to negotiate and implement trade agreements that eliminate barriers to greater market access overseas. TPA, which used to be called fast-track authority, would allow Congress to accept or reject – but not amend – trade deals the Administration negotiates with other countries. Acting U.S. Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis, in testimony before the Senate Finance Committee on March 19, said the Administration was looking forward to working with Congress on TPA. The United States is currently engaged in negotiation on a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement and will be launching Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations with the European Union later this year.

The NAM also supports amendments offered by Senator Hatch to maintain a strong U.S. Trade Representative office and to strengthen U.S. government efforts promoting innovation and protecting intellectual property rights worldwide.

The NAM opposes S.Amdt.374 offered by Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) to defund the Export-Import Bank. Ex-Im Bank authorized more than $35 billion in financing in FY 2012, supporting more than 255,000 American jobs. The Bank worked with more than 3,400 U.S. companies, 85 percent of which were small businesses. Ex-Im is a vital tool in leveling the global playing field, helping manufacturers to offset the financing support our foreign competitors receive from their governments, and in securing new customers in emerging markets. As the “lender of last resort,” Ex-Im has experienced unprecedented demand in the past few years while banks have been hesitant or unable to extend competitive terms on some transactions. The Ex-Im Bank also generates enough fees to offset its costs, contributing the remaining surplus to the U.S. Treasury to help to offset the budget deficit. The 2012 Annual Report outlines the Bank’s accomplishments last year.

Yesterday we learned that Mexico has been invited to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) talks, and now today Canada has also been formally invited to join. Other members of the TPP group include the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Peru, Chile, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei.

Much like the inclusion of Mexico this is welcome news for manufacturers. Canada is our largest trading partner totaling $596.2 billion in goods last year.

This expanded agreement would be the largest trade pact for the U.S. by joining the NAFTA partners with the current partipants in the TPP. This is an important step forward for the TPP and most importantly – manufacturing jobs. Exports are essential to manufacturing in the U.S. and we need to continue to find ways to lower barriers to reach new markets throughout the world.

The next round of negotiations for the TPP takes place in a few weeks in San Diego. It is our hope that the negotiators will make additional progress in moving us closer to the TPP becoming reality.

Today it was announced that Mexico has been invited to formally enter the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations. This is welcome news for manufacturers.

Since 2009, the NAM has expressed support for the inclusion of Mexico, Canada, and Japan in the TPP negotiations.  It has long been our position that, with regard to the TPP, one of the most important objectives we seek is encouraging additional trading partners to sign onto the TPP in the future, gradually increasing the scope of the TPP.  The inclusion of Mexico in the negotiations is an important development, as we enjoy a strong trade relationship to Mexico.

While the NAFTA was a groundbreaking agreement that has resulted in positive gains for both of our economies, there are some updates that could be made, and the TPP negotiations are a timely vehicle for those discussions to take place, ensuring that we can build upon the success of the NAFTA.  Some issues we hope to resolve with Mexico vis-à-vis the TPP negotiations deal with non-tariff barriers, as well as customs and intellectual property issues.

The key question is how to make progress on these issues without stalling the broader negotiations among the other nine negotiating nations and we look forward to working with our Mexican counterparts to identify measures that could achieve our goals in a timely and effective manner.

We welcome the opportunity to continue strengthening our trade relationship with Mexico to ensure even greater benefits for U.S. manufacturing workers.

Jessica Lemos is director of international trade policy, National Association of Manufacturers.

The United States is negotiating its latest, and we hope state-of- the-art, 21st century, free trade agreement (FTA) with eight countries in the Pacific Rim. This TransPacific Partnership (TPP) brings together countries with which we have FTAs (Australia, Peru, Chile, Singapore) and countries with which we do not FTAs, yet have open access to their markets (New Zealand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei). This constitutes our third largest export market.

Now that Congress has approved the Korea, Panama and Colombia FTAs, it is critical that the U.S. continue its efforts to expand market access for American companies. The National Association of Manufacturers today joined more than 40 other trade associations across the entire spectrum of U.S. industry to tell President Obama the United States must continue its longstanding and bipartisan approach of seeking a comprehensive agreement that covers every commercial sector and sub-sector of the U.S. economy.  To do anything less is to diminish the commercial value of the resulting agreement, and diminish the prospects the TPP holds for enhancing America’s competitiveness in the global economy.

Especially in these challenging economic times, achieving a comprehensive agreement that provides full reciprocal market access and does not exclude any sector, sub-sector, product or service from the market-access provisions or core rules of the final TPP is vital. It is also just as vital to ensure that there is no exclusion from any core principles that protect our investors and our intellectual property rights.

The NAM calls on the Administration to negotiate the broadest and deepest agreement and work with negotiating partners and domestic stakeholders to address sensitivities and concerns in a way that ultimately ensures the most comprehensive outcome possible and sets the stage for future expansion of the TPP to additional markets in Asia. We at NAM know that trade liberalization that enhances access to markets for our manufacturers and workers produces high paying jobs—jobs we sorely need now.

Stephen Jacobs is senior director of international business development, National Association of Manufacturers.

U.S Trade Representative Ron Kirk appeared before the Senate Finance Committee Wednesday to formally present the President’s 2010 Trade Policy Agenda, and as expected, express support for passage of the three long-pending free trade agreements (FTAs) with Colombia, Korea and Panama were high on the agenda for Senators.

“The FTA’s are a priority,” Kirk told the lawmakers. “We have not given up on any of those.” (Kirk’s statement.)

The ambassador was challenged by both Chairman Baucus and Ranking Member Grassley, who warned him that the United States will lose out to our competitors in Europe and other nations if we don’t advance the pending FTAs with Colombia, Korea and Panama. The goal of doubling exports in five years will be strongly aided by passing these pending FTAs, Kirk heard more than once.

As far as that competition from Europe and other countries, the European Union is certainly not letting any grass grow under its feet. On Tuesday, the EU announced the start of FTA negotiations with Vietnam. On Wednesday, the EU announced the start of FTA negotiations with Singapore. And, of course, the EU is looking to enact its FTA with Korea in the next few months.

The U.S. has an FTA with Singapore, and Vietnam would be included in the Obama Administration’s proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) FTA –- the first round of negotiations for the TPP begins in mid-March.

This news all comes on the heels of the announcement by the EU Tuesday that it has concluded its FTA negotiations with Colombia and Peru, and is looking to a May 2010 signing with entry into force by 2012.

Colombia is also nearly finished negotiating an FTA with Canada.

Canada, by the way, is negotiating an FTA with the European Union. And, of course, Canada and Korea are negotiating an FTA too.

There seems to be a trend here: Strong manufacturing countries, whose industries compete with manufacturing in America for exports to these markets, are all fiercely pursuing trade deals with the same group of nations. If past trends continue, once they conclude negotiations, Europe and Canada will move quickly to enact these agreements. So will Peru, Colombia, and Korea. (continue reading…)