In his marathon testimony before Congress earlier this summer, United States trade representative Robert Lighthizer detailed the trade-policy achievements of President Trump’s first term. It’s a list that should make the administration proud.
From the Phase One agreement with China to strong enforcement across the globe, the barriers to international commerce are far lower today than when the President took office — and American workers are better off as a result.
But there is plenty of work left in the months and years ahead. And given the economic challenges we face as a result of the coronavirus, finishing that work has never been more critical. By redoubling his efforts to break down barriers to international trade, President Trump can continue to make our economy great again.
It’s difficult to overstate the importance of global trade. One in five U.S. jobs — nearly 39 million positions altogether — relies on it. And since 1992, growth in trade-dependent jobs has been four-times faster than in jobs unrelated to trade.
For small businesses especially, the ability to reach foreign markets is often the key to accelerating growth, hiring more employees, and paying better wages. Smaller firms that do business abroad support around 4 million American jobs and comprise 98 percent of our nation’s exporters.
As vibrant as America’s trade economy may be, it is far from perfect.
Just consider how our trading partners treat U.S. products that depend on intellectual property. IP takes many forms, from song lyrics and fashion designs to drug formulas and software code. Taken as a whole, these intangible ideas are among the nation’s most valuable resources, worth an estimated $6.6 trillion.
Yet, for years, even America’s most trusted trading partners have undervalued these precious assets, and in some cases stolen them outright.
For instance, Brazil has long been a hotbed for everything from digital piracy to product counterfeiting, with the government often turning a blind eye. In places like Canada, Japan, and South Korea, government price controls on state-of-the-art U.S. pharmaceuticals prevent American innovators from selling their creations at a fair market price. In India, it’s common practice to violate U.S. copyrights.
These aren’t the only ways trade barriers box out American firms. Local content requirements in countries like India, Brazil, and Indonesia force companies to source a certain share of goods and services domestically, providing an unfair advantage to local firms. South Africa requires that 80 percent of the content broadcast on television be domestically-produced. Online piracy is also rampant in South Africa and regularly devalues the creative works of American producers, filmmakers, and recording artists.
Policies and trade violations such as these represent a direct threat to American businesses. Global IP theft alone costs the U.S. economy as much as $600 billion a year.
Such astounding losses were unacceptable during good economic times. Holding countries that disregard IP protections for American firms or impose arbitrary price controls on America’s most innovative products accountable would help our economy rebound from the coronavirus.
In many cases, achieving this goal is simply a matter of enforcing trade pacts already on the books.
To document violations and hold our trading partners accountable, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will need ample resources. Luckily, President Trump has been a vocal advocate of bolstering the USTR.
Of course, it’s just as important that federal officials imbue new trade agreements — many of which already are in the negotiating stages — with stricter enforcement mechanisms.
As Ambassador Lighthizer explained in his testimony, the Trump Administration has its sights on new trade pacts with the United Kingdom, Japan, Kenya, and other countries in the months ahead. It’s critical that these efforts not lose momentum as the November elections grow closer.
The Trump Administration has made important progress towards protecting American workers from unfair trade practices. But as the President and Ambassador Lighthizer both readily acknowledge, there is more that remains to be done, especially now that the coronavirus has created unprecedented challenges for our economy.
By strictly enforcing trade agreements — and working towards new, more open trading relationships — the administration can stave off the worst consequences of this downturn and continue to give American workers the fair shake that they deserve.
Rick Dearborn is a senior fellow for the Bipartisan Policy Center and former deputy chief of staff to President Trump.
First Published September 8, 2020, 4:00 a.m.
