A U.S. GLOBAL TRADE POLICY'

With campaign-type rhetoric subsiding, the Obama administration has now begun to talk about the need to boost exports as a means to address U.S. economic issues and how this can offer opportunities for the manufacturing sector. There are finally signs of a plan to push export-centric business that will result in a clear global trade policy. This is coming not a moment too soon, as global economic gains are taking place in Asia at the same time that real economic decline appears to be in store for the Europeans.

Initial discussions from the Obama team have centered on what is working with trade policy, as opposed to what could be done to expand the sector. The existing trade deals on the table were scrapped and many of the old deals were subjected to new scrutiny. As the recession started to give way to a slow recovery, it became apparent that the rebound would depend heavily on manufacturers? abilities to exploit the market opportunities that came from expansion in the so-called BRIC nations and, as a result of the U.S. dollar weakness, that gave U.S. producers an advantage they have not had in years.

The plans remain pretty vague and critics still assert they lack cohesion. However, some basic principles appear to have developed. These include:
? A plan aimed at the emerging markets, as opposed to the traditional markets, that formerly constituted the bulk of U.S. focus. There is not one European nation on the target list of emphasis nations, as the focus will be on Brazil, China, India, Vietnam, South Africa, Korea and elsewhere.

? An effort based on trying to promote the existing export initiatives that the government has in place, but which have mostly been employed by larger companies. The focus now is to get the smaller operations to take advantage of these programs.

The prime issue for a small company is getting access to business in other nations in a cost effective manner. It is expensive to travel there and expensive to invite buyers in. The complexities are real, from cultural barriers and linguistic challenges to the issues of getting paid and abiding by new laws and regulations. These are tough issues, but far from insurmountable. At this point the trade plan from the government is long on promise and short on details, but if there is real assistance on the horizon, it will become incumbent on manufacturers to figure out how to play and make money.

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Dr. Chris Kuehl is an economic analyst for the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association (FMA; Rockford, IL), a professional organization founded in 1970 to improve the metal forming and fabricating industry. This was excerpted from Fabrinomics, an economic newsletter published by the FMA.