Free-trade boosters make stop in Ogden
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No Comments [ Add Comment ]By JEFF DEMOSS
Standard-Examiner staff
jdemoss@standard.net
OGDEN -- Organizers of a nationwide tour promoting expanded free trade between the United States and other nations said a Wednesday stop in Ogden was the most welcome reception it has received so far.
"We've been to a lot of places, and I think this is our best turnout yet," Tim Herbert, a representative for the Consumer Electronics Association, told a crowd of about 100 gathered at Kimber Kable, a local sound equipment company.
The association, best known for its annual electronics show in Las Vegas, has been touring the nation since late July in an attempt to drum up popular support for easing restrictions on free trade with other countries -- especially as they relate to the consumer electronics industry.
Herbert said the industry will be responsible for $173 billion in sales and 4.4 million jobs nationwide this year, including $2 billion in sales and 75,000 jobs for the Utah economy.
Ray Kimber, founder of Kimber Kable, said he does more than half of his business overseas. His company's high-end sound cables are sold across the world, and he isn't worried about losing jobs to other countries.
"We've never had a reduction in work force," Kimber said, "and we sell almost nothing in the state of Utah."
Ogden Mayor Matthew Godfrey said the most popular arguments against free trade are not supported by recent history.
"Critics projected lost jobs and declining wages," Godfrey said, adding that since the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994, per capita wages in both the U.S. and Mexico have risen more than 4 percent annually on average.
Free trade "creates more jobs and more products," he said. "It also helps stabilize third-world countries. A stable third world would be good for the U.S."
CEA started its 28-state tour July 21 in New York City. It plans to make stops at next week's Democratic National Convention in Denver and the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis the following week.
David Kavanaugh, U.S. deputy assistant secretary for trade in the Treasury Department, urged Congress to pass pending trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea. He said such moves will be vital to the nation's future economic strength.
"We can easily squander our lead if we don't pass these free-trade agreements."
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