Romney Is Opening New Markets for America to Create Jobs

Mitt Romney, who is the Secretary of Commerce, recognizes the importance of trade and the impact it has on the economic future. Many believe that he has the skills that are necessary to put the economy back into a stable position so that it will create job growth. Romney helped forge new trade agreements with allies in Asia and Latin America and saw first hand the challenges of building trading relationships. However, Romney understands the enormous benefits that accrue when this is done and how the countries’ economies involved are reaping the benefits.

Many individuals do not agree that President Obama knows what it takes to understand the importance of free trade. President Obama speaks about creating jobs, as his State of the Union address states:

“We have to seek new markets aggressively, just as our competitors are. If America sits on the sidelines while other nations sign trade deals, we will lose the chance to create jobs on our shores.”

However, many people are not seeing his talk being put into action, thus creating concern. Also, when President Obama came into office, he derailed the robust and active trade agenda pursued by the Bush administration. President Obama immediately put his inherited ongoing negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership on hold and hasn’t done anything with the inherited free trade agreements that were signed, sealed and ready for delivery to Congress when he took office. It has taken nearly three years, but President Obama is moving forward with these agreements.

During the three year wait, other countries such as South Korea have already made agreements. South Korea and the EU made an agreement that went into effect early this year. European companies are gaining a significant advantage over American ones when it comes to the Korean market. In just the first two weeks, the EU-Korean trade increased 17 percent.

Europe has been negotiating and signing free trade agreements since the United States reached its last successful agreement in 2007. Europe now has 25 countries on five continents to trade with and China is following along with having 19 countries on six continents. China is also becoming a huge influencer in our own hemisphere by making massive investments in places like Colombia. The Colombian president declares that Asia is “the new motor of the world economy.”

The lack of trading interest in America is becoming distressing, especially given the current economic challenges. Roughly 10 million American jobs already rely on exports and these jobs are good positions. They pay significantly above average and more than one-third are in manufacturing. However, American has only begun to tap into the job-creating power of trade. Things need to change quickly because approximately 95 percent of the world’s consumers are beyond America’s borders.

Romney wants to put American back on top and can do so based on prior experience. Romney offers the most comprehensive agenda for opening new markets to American goods and services. There will be no more waiting when it comes to free trade agreements as Romney promises to promptly submit them for approval by Congress.