Obama and McCain diverge on globalized trade

To supporters, Obama’s policies represent a long-overdue effort to stand up for American workers and US-based production, while stopping well short of narrow-minded protectionism.
Many voters in Ohio want to see that tougher line.

“I believe in free trade when it’s fair,” says James Ciomek, a union steelworker in Cleveland.
His own work is steady right now, and the mill he works at is busy on this day with production bound for Brazil.

But statewide, one-quarter of Ohio’s 1 million manufacturing jobs as of 1998 had disappeared by this summer.

Mr. Ciomek thanks Mr. Bush’s brief imposition of steel tariffs in 2001 (a response to alleged unfair practices by foreign producers) for helping to revive the US steel industry.

But in his community, he says, workers’ wages aren’t keeping up with inflation, and often “there’s just a threat in the back of people’s minds” that their jobs could be the next to move offshore.

One reason for the wage stagnation, he says, is treaties that have promoted trade without looking after the rights of workers.

‘Buy American’

Ciomek says he tries to buy American goods whenever he can. Recently, when he was teaching his granddaughter to shop for groceries, he was frustrated when she successfully found garlic ... grown in China.

“I’d love to see a store called ‘Made in US,’ ” he says.

Such frustrations are shared by many voters across the country.

In an early August CBS News poll, 62 percent of American adults said the economic rise of nations like China and India has been “bad” for the US economy, while 14 percent said it had been “good.”

In CNN polls, Americans shifted from neutral last October to slightly pessimistic this June on the question of whether trade is an opportunity or a threat to the nation’s economy.

By their Senate records, the choice between McCain and Obama on this issue is clear-cut. McCain and Obama have been on opposite sides of some key Senate votes on trade.
Economists generally line up in the McCain camp on this issue, warning that if the United States were to lead the world down a path of trade disputes and protectionism, growth and prosperity would take a hit.

“Trade is one of the bright spots for the US economy right now,” says Daniel Griswold, a trade expert at the libertarian Cato Institute in Washington. “Exports are booming,” he says, while “access to global markets has helped keep prices [for US consumers] down.”

Integration with the global economy brings not just goods but also new technologies that make American workers more productive. Moreover, when foreign companies cross borders to invest in the US, it can create or preserve jobs. The steel mill where Ciomek works, for example, has been running for decades but is now owned by Luxembourg-based Arcelor-Mittal.

For Columbia Chemical, just outside Cleveland, exports now outstrip domestic sales, accounting for 60 percent of business. This year, even with US sales down, the company’s overall sales are up thanks to those emerging markets abroad, says Mr. Reilley, who is vice president.

The chemicals are used in zinc-plating metal parts for a range of products, from real automobiles to toy ones of the Hot Wheels variety.

“We want to be able to sell our products all over the world, and buy products all over the world,” says Reilley. “I hope that [policymakers] allow us to continue to do that.”

Like much US manufacturing, the operation here is not very labor intensive. In this case, only a minority of Columbia’s workforce is in production jobs. Others are technicians and engineers developing products or ensuring quality control.

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