Opinion Editorial

Secretary Carlos Gutierrez
Opinion Editorial, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
”Opening Pacific Rim Markets to Alaska’s Exports”

In North America and the Pacific Rim, Alaska plays an increasingly important role in global commerce, and global commerce is increasingly critical to Alaska — and the nation’s — prosperity and growth.

Alaska, once on the boundaries of global commerce, is now near its center. Today 90 percent of the industrialized world is less than 10 hours from Alaska, and more than 5 million people pass through Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport each year. It is the No. 1 airport in the United States by landed weight for cargo aircraft, with many payloads coming from or going to destinations around the globe.

With this kind of growth, it is critical that we take every opportunity to strengthen the American economy. Free-trade agreements are important tools that give Alaska’s exporters — including fabricators and extractors of raw materials, logistics companies, seafood processors and manufacturers — the edge they need.

Some are now talking about going backward, about “opting-out” of agreements like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The fact is that free-trade agreements work, and they keep Alaska’s economy growing and Alaskans working. Canada and Mexico are two of Alaska’s 10 largest export destinations that together accounted for more than a half-billion dollars in exports last year — up over 140 percent from five years earlier.

Quitting NAFTA would be devastating for Alaska’s economy.

Instead, we need to pursue a different course that allows us to take advantage of existing agreements and exploit Alaska’s strategic location. We have the opportunity to do that with three Pacific Rim free-trade agreements pending before Congress now. These agreements are with Colombia, Panama and South Korea.

The agreement with South Korea would be the most economically significant FTA since NAFTA for both the United States and Alaska. Alaska exported $703 million in goods to South Korea, its third largest export market in 2007. That’s about the same size as the entire European Union.

Eliminating barriers to trade is not the only important benefit of an FTA with South Korea. An FTA is a symbol of our relationship with a country willing to compete with us on an even playing field. While a few issues remain, such as giving American beef fair access to Korean consumers, both our countries benefit tremendously with this agreement’s implementation.

In addition, South Korea, like Colombia, borders a country with a totalitarian and distinctly anti-American outlook. This agreement allows us to modernize our long-standing alliance and enhance our engagement with a key ally in a strategically important part of the world.

This can be done by quickly passing the Colombia FTA, which helps American exporters. Its passage sends a signal that we are ready to continue increasing American competitiveness and begin working on passage of other FTAs, including Korea.

In addition to reaffirming our support for freedom, free markets and freedom of expression in Colombia, this agreement promotes stability throughout the hemisphere. Few have paid as high a price or shown as much bravery in the struggle for democracy as the Colombian people and their elected leaders.

For more than 16 years, Congress has given more than 90 percent of our imports from Colombia duty-free access to the American market, while American exporters to Colombia pay hundreds of millions in tariffs each year. This agreement gives us the opportunity to make free trade with Colombia a two-way street, enhancing our entire nation’s competitiveness.

Right now a tremendous amount is at stake, and these agreements are a bellwether for the future. These three agreements strengthen our relationships across the Pacific Rim; however, until Colombia is passed, all three agreements will remain stalled in Congress.

We cannot afford to wait. It is critical all are passed now for all the right reasons. Alaska is more connected and closer to the center of global commerce than ever. And when we are leading, open and engaged with the world, Alaska and our entire country set ourselves up for a future of growth.

Please visit TradeAgreements.gov for updated information on pending free-trade agreements.