Global trade helps economy, experts say

Buying foreign products is being blamed for some of America's economic woes. But heavy hitters visiting Utah for a conference on international trade say tearing down barriers to global trade is the answer, not the problem.

"Some are trying to blame trade for our problems," said Thomas J. Donohue, president and chief executive officer of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the keynote speaker at Zions Bank's International Trade and Business Conference Wednesday in downtown Salt Lake City. "We're the largest exporters in the world to 95 percent of the people in the world who don't live here."

Donohue and several other national trade experts threw out a dizzying array of numbers to make their case that protectionism and isolation are harmful, while actively trading in the international marketplace is wise. And they debunked the oft-expressed belief that "America no longer makes anything."

In 2008, Utah exports increased by 32 percent, and about 2,300 Utah businesses, mostly small and mid-sized, exported goods, Zions Bank CEO and president Scott Anderson told the 750-plus conference-goers.

"Local is now increasingly global," said Rick C. Wade, senior analyst and deputy chief of staff of the U.S. Department of Commerce, adding, "there is always opportunity in crisis," referring to the recession. "In difficult economic times, it is even more important" to take advantage of every opportunity for economic growth, he said.

"While the challenges we face are deep and real … and unrivaled in half a century," he said, American companies are world leaders in technology, innovation and entrepreneurship. Exporting and importing are essential to creating jobs and growing the economy.

While protectionist slogans sound good, Americans gain the most from "open, transparent and fair" trade around the globe, he said. "We reject protectionism. Our economy depends on the global economy."

Utah is an international player, as well. Last year, its companies exported $10.3 billion worth of goods, and one of every seven manufacturing jobs depended on exports, Wade said.

In Utah, more than 130,000 jobs depend on manufacturing, and a great many of them depend on exporting, said Douglas A.R. Goudie, director of international trade policy for the National Association of Manufacturers. U.S. manufacturing had hit an all-time high just before the recession, and it will be back, he predicted. "About 23 percent of all the goods in the world are made here." Last year, admittedly not the best year, American companies shipped $5.2 trillion in goods, he added.