Foreign trade and the pending TPP

The presidential campaigns and President Obama's recent trip to China have given foreign trade and the pending Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) a fair amount of attention.

Some facts about this country's foreign trade:

We export over $2.2 trillion of goods and services, we import over $2.7 trillion of goods and services, and Moody Analytics estimates that the USA would lose about 1.5 million jobs within two years following action which would reduce US trade.

The countries that would be party to the TPP are the United States, Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Brunei, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, Chile and Peru. It is estimated that in the first 10 years of this treaty the economy of the USA would gain over $77 billion and the other countries would experience gains of nearly $290 billion.

More importantly, the United States would be putting in place policies that ensure a rate of national power production that would be relatively more favorable to this country and its Pacific allies than to China. This would help to preserve a favorable balance of power in the Asia-Pacific.

To help individuals who lose their jobs due to the TPP, the following actions should be taken: Strict enforcement of age discrimination laws, provide opportunities for retraining and assistance with obtaining new employment, and provide monthly benefits similar to GI Education Benefits to those who take advantage of retraining.

Hopefully our leaders will have the wisdom to take the actions that will benefit our country.

John Piepho, Cape Girardeau