As Republicans arrive in Minneapolis for the GOP National Convention, a new poll released today shows considerable support among Americans for overseas trade. Fifty-eight percent of those polled said they consider trade a good thing because it has reduced the costs of goods such as electronics and clothing while at the same time helping Americans to become more competitive with workers overseas. The survey released by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)® was conducted by Zogby International.
A vast majority, 69 percent, report that they personally benefit from trade. Support for trade has particularly been drawn from the technology and consumer electronics fields. Sixty-nine percent of Americans called said they support overseas trade in those sectors. In addition, 74 percent said that it was a “good thing” that overseas trade and global manufacturing had reduced the costs of consumer electronics goods in the United States. Fifty-seven percent said that America would not be the economic leader it is today without overseas trade. Only 25 percent disagreed with this statement.
“The verdict is in and the people have spoken. Now it’s time for Congress to grasp what the American people firmly understand – that trade benefits our country,” said CEA President and CEO Gary Shapiro. “It’s time for Congress to listen to the American people and not the protectionists in the media and do what’s right for our economy, which is passage of trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea.”
Particularly noteworthy from the poll is strong support among young adults for trade. Among 18 to 24-year olds:
- Seventy-three percent believe that overseas trade is a good thing even if it forces Americans to become more competitive with overseas workers.
- By a three-to-one margin (of those who had an opinion) they think America would have created fewer jobs in the last 15 years if it had been more restrictive in its overseas trade.
- Eighty-four percent said they personally benefit from trade.
- Sixty percent said U.S. companies are practicing smart business by placing workers in the most cost-efficient locations, even if that means overseas.
- Seventy percent said the U.S. would not be the economic leader without overseas trade.
The survey was conducted to test perceptions of overseas trade as CEA culminates its 28-state “America Wins with Trade” bus tour in Minneapolis for the Republican National Convention. CEA will hold a pro-trade rally with special guests, including, the Honorable Carlos M. Gutierrez, U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Congressman Kevin Brady (R-TX), Congressman Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Congressman David Dreier (R-CA) in Minneapolis outside of the History Center Museum at 345 Kellogg Boulevard West on September 2nd.
The Zogby survey underscores how Republicans and Democrats see eye-to-eye on some areas of trade, but disagree on others.
Democrats | Republicans | |||
| Support overseas trade in technology and consumer electronics | 67% | 75% | ||
| Believe U.S. would have less or same number of jobs if trade restricted | 34% | 58% | ||
| Benefit personally from overseas trade | 62% | 75% | ||
| Say trade is good even if it forces U.S. to become more competitive | 46% | 69% |
The survey of 3,440 people was conducted from August 12-14 and has a margin of error of 1.7 percent. CEA released the results of Democrats’ perceptions of trade last week in Denver.
Spurred by trade, the consumer electronics industry is projected to generate $1.4 trillion in direct business activity this year and directly employ more than 4.4 million Americans. Trade plays a critical role in the industry’s health – for example, one in seven of those jobs, or about 616,000 jobs, is directly tied to America’s trade overseas.
Of CEA’s 2,200 members, 80 percent are small and mid-sized companies with revenues of $30 million or less. For companies of this size in particular, trade is crucial for business growth and domestic job creation.
CEA has called on Congress to pursue a pro-growth trade policy that includes:
- Aggressively pursuing bilateral trade agreements. In the absence of an agreement in the Doha Round of the World Trade Organization (WTO), bilateral trade agreements offer the next best way to open foreign markets to U.S. small businesses. Trade agreements create sales opportunities, reduce costs and diminish uncertainties. Through trade agreements we can enforce intellectual property rights, establish substantive investment protections and provide increased transparency to U.S. exporters. CEA urges Congress to pass the Colombia, Panama and Korea Free Trade Agreements this year.
- Reauthorize trade promotion authority. Without trade promotion authority our trading partners will be reluctant to negotiate trade pacts with the U.S. America’s hands will be tied, and the U.S. will fall behind other nations negotiating trade agreements at an unprecedented pace.
- Eliminate non-tariff barriers. Non-tariff barriers hinder trade and burden small companies with unnecessary compliance costs. Examples of these barriers include cumbersome customs regulations, corrupt government procurement processes, and most recently, a proliferation of divergent or non-harmonized approaches to environmental standards, among others.
- Uphold and enforce trade agreements. In addition to pursuing new agreements, the U.S. must commit to maintaining and enforcing those agreements already in place. The U.S. must take an aggressive stance to protect products already covered by the WTO’s Information Technology Agreement (ITA). The ITA covers more than 97 percent of the world trade in information technology products, and provides for the elimination of duties on those covered products. It is crucial for the U.S. to uphold provisions of the ITA that allow for future developments of IT products and enable companies to enjoy the full scope of the agreements intended duty-free benefits.
For more information on the CEA trade initiative, please go to www.CE.org.
About CEA:
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is the preeminent trade association promoting growth in the $173 billion U.S. consumer electronics industry. More than 2,200 companies enjoy the benefits of CEA membership, including legislative advocacy, market research, technical training and education, industry promotion and the fostering of business and strategic relationships. CEA also sponsors and manages the International CES – Where Entertainment, Technology and Business Converge. All profits from CES are reinvested into CEA’s industry services. Find CEA online at www.CE.org.
UPCOMING EVENTS
| -- | CEA Industry Forum | |
| October 19-22, 2008, Las Vegas, NV | ||
| -- | Digital Hollywood | |
| October 27-30, 2008, Hollywood, CA | ||
| -- | EHX Fall 2008 | |
| November 4-7, 2008, Long Beach, CA | ||
| -- | CES New York Press Preview featuring CES Unveiled @ NY | |
| November 11, 2008, New York, NY | ||
| -- | Future of Television East | |
| November 18-19, 2008, New York, NY | ||
| -- | CES Unveiled: The Official Press Event of the International CES | |
| January 6, 2009, Las Vegas, NV | ||
| -- | 2009 International CES | |
| January 8-11, 2009, Las Vegas, NV | ||
| -- | Digital Music Forum East | |
February 25-26, 2009, New York, NY | ||
| -- | Digital Patriots Dinner | |
| April 22, 2009, Washington, DC | ||
| -- | CEA Washington Forum | |
April 22-23, 2009, Washington, DC | ||
Contacts:
Jason Oxman, 703-907-7664
joxman@CE.org
http://www.CE.org
or
Meghan
Henning, 703-907-7654
mhenning@CE.org
