President Must Not Ignore Industrial Decline by William R. Hawkins (NAPSA)—When discussing his economic agenda in public forums, President George W. Bush repeatedly links economic growth with national security, as well he should. The country’s industrial and financial strengths are the basis of America’s power and influence in the world. This is why Osama bin Laden ordered his terrorists to strike at the U.S. economy. Unfortunately, when the President turns to the weakest part of his program—international trade— his remarks are often clouded with contradictions that cast doubt on whether he understands what’s at stake. Take, for example, the following statement from Bush’s recent talk in East Moline, IIl.: “To make sure people can find work...is to make sure that we open up the world for American products. Fearful people want to build walls around America. Confident people believe we ought to tear them down.I’m confident in the American worker.I know the American worker can outproduce anybody, anywhere in the world. I’m confident in the American farmer. I know the American farm is more efficient, and can raise more crop than anybody, anywhere in the world.” He wants to export American products to support Americanjobs, but his action item is to tear down the “walls” around America. His only identified adversaries are those “fearful” people—his fellow Americans—who worry about foreign competition taking their jobs. He does not mention rival foreign competition taking their jobs. He does not mention rival foreign governments that keep American products out of their markets while subsidizing and dumping exports to undermine American companies. Yet in the same speech, the President made the case for a large degree of economic self-sufficiency in key sectors. He declared, “Part of the national security of the country is to know that we’re self-sufficient when it comes to food production...we don’t have to rely upon another nation to feed our people.” US Foreign Dependency: Imports of Manufactured Goods and Energy Fuels $Billions: US Imports Each Year Sy 1 [By Manufactured Goods Hi Energy Fuels $0 1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 USDept. of Commerce and MBGInformation Services Supporting American industry means keeping jobs here at home. As to the energy sector, the President says, “We are too reliant upon foreign sources of crude oil...it’s in the national security interests of our country to have an energy policy.” The problem is that the President did not mention manufacturing in the same way as agriculture and energy. Sustaining America’s manufacturing capacity—especially in those heavy-industry and high-technology sectors, which are at the core of any advanced economy, and any nation’s military strength—is as vital to America as is our independence from foreign sources for our food and energy. The American industrial sector has been hit hard in recent years. In 2001, the U.S. imported $1 tril- lion worth of foreign manufactured goods, supporting production, jobs and growth overseas rather than here at home. Years of trade deficits have done more damage to the American industrial base than has any terrorist plot. Over the past 12 months, more than 1.3 million American manufacturing jobs havebeenlost. While no President would consciously allow America to become dangerously dependent on foreign industry, isn’t that precisely the risk we’re taking if we ignore the ongoing decline in the U.S. manu- facturing base? William R. Hawkins is Senior Fellow at the U.S. Business and Industry Council Education Foundation, Washington, D.C.
