Export-Friendly Policies Vital for Growth of Equipment Manufacturing

 

An immediate step to expand exports is Congressional approval of pending Free Trade Agreements with Panama, Colombia and South Korea, according to Slater, who also relayed these comments in a letter to President Obama.
Courtesy of www.scd.eu

Fostering a competitive trade environment to boost the American economy and create jobs was the subject of a briefing and roundtable discussion with United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk attended by Association of Equipment Manufacturers representatives. AEM President Dennis Slater and AEM Senior Vice President Al Cervero participated.

“It is essential to create a healthy business environment here in the U.S. where manufacturers can be encouraged to pursue exports and create jobs. We need sound policies so U.S. manufacturers can remain competitive in the increasingly growing global marketplace,” Slater stated.

Slater applauded the potential of the new National Export Initiative to help revive the U.S. economy, create and preserve jobs in the United States, and strengthen America's competitiveness. Equipment manufacturing is key to landscape construction and can help us get out of this recession.

“Exports have been a buoy for the construction equipment industry as U.S. business has plummeted and industry unemployment has been double the national average," Slater said. "And, in 2009, due to reliance on exports, the value of exported agricultural machinery and industrial equipment from the U.S. was at approximately 30 percent of U.S. production.”

Slater also cited data from the Institute for International Economics showing that export business helps U.S. companies not only grow faster, but they are also nearly 8.5 percent less likely to go out of business than non-exporting companies.

The benefits of liberalized trade are apparent from our past trade agreements, noted Slater. The North American Free Trade Agreement and World Trade organization agreements are estimated to have increased U.S. Gross Domestic Product by $40 billion to $60 billion a year.

– Courtesy of AEM