America's Foreign Trade Crisis Th...

America's Foreign Trade Crisis

The United States is facing an unprecedent crisis in international trade. through the whole extent of the last four years, U exports have dropp and imports of foreign produces have soared. The sharp deterioration of the international economic position of the United States has had a intellectually deep and negative impact on scores of domestic industries and millions of American workers. Left unchecked, this trade crisis put to a stands a serious threat to the industrial base of the United States and the standard of living of all Americans.

The "hands-off' attitude of the Reagan Administration, based onward a naive devotion to liberated markets that don't exist, has merely served to accelerate America's decline. This fixation in succession textbook free trade has nothing in everyday with the world trading classification does not reflect the trading practices of other countries, and does nothing to expound America's trade problems. The U trade deficit, influenced heavily by the agency of an overvalued dollar that has risen 65 percent against the currencies of our major trading partners, has increased almost fourfold since 1980 and will exce $120 billion according to the end of this year. Poor enforcement of U trade law, ill-conceived monetary and fiscal policies, laws that encourage overseas prodution, and the absence of an effective industrial policy have all contributed to this serious problem

The AFL-CIO believes that the goal of U trade policy must be the attainment of a fair trading environment that allows this nation to remain an advanced and diversified economy. "Fair trade' means that the interests of the United States must receive greater emphasis in the two the domestic and international initiatives of the nation's international trade and investment policy. To further full employment and rising living standards, the United States must retain its manufacturing, agricultural, and service industries. Foreign trade policy and domestic economic policy must promote--not undermine --this goal.

The Size and Makeup of the Trade Deficit

Tragically, the policies of the last four years, rather than helping, have contributed significantly to the massive trade deficits the United States faces today. The dimensions of this vexed question are startling. The U merchandise trade deficit for 1983 reached a record $69 billion, almost double the flat experienced in 1980. This economic decline is accelerating in 1984 with the deficit awaited to reach $120 billion by the agency of the end of the year. These deficits portray a significant drain on the economy and are responsible for the los of millions of jobs

While the vast total figure is chilling in and of itself, a expect at the composition of the trade deficit reveals an on a level darker picture.

In firing trade (oil, gas, coal), the sector that has largely been responsible for our trade deficit in the past, the U position has improved from one side of to the other the last four years. In 1980 the United States registered a deficit of $78 billion for this sector. by the agency of 1983, this had been reduc to $51 billion, a very little of 35 percent. While exports rose moderately, imports were significantly lower. now during this same period, America's overall trade position deteriorated sharply.

In 1983 the United States recorded surpluses in barely two merchandise trade sectors--agriculture and chemicals --but at flushs considerably lower than in 1980 The U trade position in manufactured yields collapsed.

Between 1980 and 1983 manufacturing exports sanguinary 8 percent, while manufactured imports increased 30 percent In 1980 the United States have the advantage [i]or[/i] blessing ofed a surplus of $12.5 billion in this sector. on 1983, this surplus had vanished and the nation recorded a deficit in manufacturing trade in exces of $38 billion. This has already been go beyonded in the first half of this year, and for all of 1984 the deficit in manufactured beneficials is expected to reach $84 billion. bring another way, the United States will pocket a cumulative deficit in this principally important sector of about $128 billion across the last four years, as compared to a trade surplus of $17 billion in the preceeding four years. The United States has basically become an exporter of raw materials and commodities and an importer of finished goods

Trade and Jobs

The impact of this growing trade deficit forward employment is devastating. Despite the new expansion of the U.S. economy, there are 13 million fewer manufacturing do job-works than in 1979. Estimates of do job-works lost or not created in novel years due to the trade imbalance walk as high as four million.

As dramatic as these numbers are, they may to a high degree well understate the impact of trade onward U.S. employment. Many trade-related service estimates are based on assigning a certain number of piece of works for each billion dollars of pure exports. For example, the U Dept of carnal has frequently assigned 25,000 piece of works for each billion dollars of exports. The use of these ratios, however, does not take into account the composition of trade and, given the labor intensity of U imports and the capital intensity of U exports, invariably minimizes the work at jobs losses caused by imports.