THE TTALK QUOTES 

On Global Trade & Investment

 

Published Three Times a Week By

The Global Business Dialogue, Inc.

Washington, DC   Tel: 202-463-5074

Email: [email protected]

 

No. 5 of 2015 

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015      

 

   

Filed from Washington, DC 

    

A STRONG MESSAGE ON TRADE

 

"I'm asking both parties to give me trade promotion authority to protect American workers, with strong new trade deals from Asia to Europe that aren't just free, but are also fair.  It's the right thing to do." 

 

Barack Obama 

January 20, 2015

CONTEXT
President Obama's call for Trade Promotion Authority in his State of the Union message last night was the strongest such statement we can recall from the President, at least in that very special setting.  We have highlighted the call for Trade Promotion Authority, but there was, in fact, a fairly wide range of trade commentary in the President's remarks, especially for a State-of-the-Union speech, which is unavoidably always something of a laundry list.  Here is more on trade from his remarks last night:

"Twenty-first century businesses need 21st century infrastructure -- modern ports, and stronger bridges, faster trains and the fastest Internet.  Democrats and Republicans used to agree on this.  So let's set our sights higher than a single oil pipeline.  Let's pass a bipartisan infrastructure plan that could create more than 30 times as many jobs per year, and make this country stronger for decades to come.  (Applause.)  Let's do it.  Let's get it done.  Let's get it done.  (Applause.)
 
"Twenty-first century businesses, including small businesses, need to sell more American products overseas.  Today, our businesses export more than ever, and exporters tend to pay their workers higher wages.  But as we speak, China wants to write the rules for the world's fastest-growing region.  That would put our workers and our businesses at a disadvantage.  Why would we let that happen?  We should write those rules.  We should level the playing field.  That's why I'm asking both parties to give me trade promotion authority to protect American workers, with strong new trade deals from Asia to Europe that aren't just free, but are also fair.  It's the right thing to do.  (Applause.)
 
"Look, I'm the first one to admit that past trade deals haven't always lived up to the hype, and that's why we've gone after countries that break the rules at our expense.  But 95 percent of the world's customers live outside our borders.  We can't close ourselves off from those opportunities.  More than half of manufacturing executives have said they're actively looking to bring jobs back from China.  So let's give them one more reason to get it done."

COMMENT
We recognize that you have all heard and read these Presidential statements many times in the last 24 hours.  They have been widely quoted, as they should have been, and they will be parsed and paraphrased much more in the months ahead, as they will need to be.  It is not to bring you news that we quote them here but for two other reasons.  The first is that the omission of the above Presidential statements from this series would be unconscionable.  The second is that we know we will want to refer back to them frequently, and it will be convenient to have them readily available in the TTALK Quote library.

The question is, whose spirit will dominate in those future reflections, Babe Ruth's or Robert Frost's? When we think of Babe Ruth, we think of the legend of his pointing to center field in Chicago.  It was the fifth inning of the third game of the 1932 World Series.  He was down two strikes.  Before the next pitch, he pointed to center field-or so the legend says-and that pitch became his famous home-run hit to center field.  Six months from now, when we quote President Obama on TPA, we hope it is that image that comes to mind. If it is, we'll add the totally unnecessary but marvelously satisfying explanation: He did it.

 

If it is Robert Frost we think of then, however, the mood will be less jubilant, and the line will be, "I shall be telling this with a sigh/Somewhere ages and ages hence."  We love quoting Frost, but this time we're hoping events will allow us to return to the Babe Ruth legend.

RELATED EVENT
There was so much trade material in last night speech-indeed so much in the passage quoted above-that it will be surprising if we do not return to both and long before we know the results of the drive for Trade Promotion Authority.

On Ports And Trade.  For example, the President talked last night about the need for modern ports, and that is an issue we will be discussing tomorrow morning at the National Press, where GBD will host a discussion on the topic:


 

The Shifting Dynamics of Supply Chains, Ports, and
Labor Disputes


 


 

We will do this with one eye on the troubles in America's West Coast Ports and the other on the future of waterborne transportation.  And we'll do it with help from the American Association of Port Authorities, NAM, the National Retail Federation, UPS, and the Agriculture Transportation Coalition.

 

It is not too late to register.  Click on the title link above for details-including registration options-and join us tomorrow morning.  The best trade agreements in the world won't be of much use if the ports aren't functioning properly. 

SOURCES & LINKS

 State of the Union 2015 is a link to the President speech last night as it appears on the White House website.


 

Babe Ruth in Chicago takes you to the Wikipedia entry for Babe Ruth's called shot.


 

The Road Not Taken is a link to this the text of this famous Robert Frost poem.

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� 2015 The Global Business Dialogue, Inc.

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Washington, DC   20036

Tel: (202) 463-5074

R. K. Morris, Editor

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