Evening star., 1962-01-25

President Kennedy al
yesterday.-AP Photo.
security will be made. Unless
we have this authority to
negotiate and have it this year
If we are separated from the
Common Market by high tariff
barriers on either side of the
Atlantic-then we cannot hope
to play an effective part in
those basic decisions.
| If we are to retain our lead
ership, the initiative is up to
us. -.
The American businessman,
once the authority granted by
this bill Is exercised, will have
a unique opportunity to COM
pete on a more equal basis in
a rich and rapidly expanding
market abroad which possesses
potentially a purchasing power
as large and as varied as our
own. He knows that, once arti-
ficial restraints are removed, q
vast array Of American goods,
produced by American know
how with American efficiency,
can compete with any goods
in any spot in the world. And
almost all members of the bus
mess community, in every state,
now participate or could parti-
cipate in the production, proc
essing, transporting, or dis
tribution Of either exports or
imports +. :.
The American farmer has q
tremendous stake in expanded
trade. One out Of every seven
farm workers produces for ex-
port. The average farmer de-
pends on foreign markets to
sell the crops grown on one
out Of every six acres he plants.
Sixty per cent of our rice, 40
per cent of our cotton, As per
cent OF our wheat and AZ per
cent OF our soybean production
are exported. Agriculture is one
OF our best sources of FOREIGN
exchange
! The American worker will
benefit from the expansion of
our exports. One out of every
three workers engaged in man
ufacturing is employed in estab-
l1shmentS that export. Several
hundred times as many work.
ers owe their jobs directly or
indirectly to exports as are in
the small group - estimated
to be less than one half of
one per cent of all workers.
who might be adversely af-
1ected by a sharp increase in
imports.
The Am merican consumer
J benefits most Of all from an
increase in foreign trade. I'm
ports give him a wider choice
OF products at competitive
prices. They introduce new
Ideas and new tastes, which
otten lead to new demands for
! American production
American imports, in short,
nave generally strengthened
rather than weakened our econ
omy. Their competitive bene-
tits have already been men
toned. But about so per cent
OF the goods we import to not
, compete with the goods we
produce-either because they
are not produced in this coun-
try, or are not produced in any
; significant quantity. They pro-
VIDE us with products we need
but cannot efficiently make or
grow (such as bananas or cof-
fee), supplement our own
steadily depicting natural re-
sources with items not available
here in quantity (such as man
ganese or chrome ore, 80 per
. cent or more Of which must be
imported if our steel mills are
to operate), and contributes to
) our industrial efficiency, our
economic growth and our high
; level OF consumption. Those
! imports that do compete are
, equal to only one or one and
one half per cent of our total
!, national production; and even
these imports create jobs di-
rectly for those engaged in
5 their processing, distribution,
> or transportation, and indi-
: rectly for those employed in
: both export industries and in
those industries dependent
E upon reasonably priced i'm
= ported supplies for their own
S ability to compete.
D Moreover, we must reduce
f our own tariffs if we hope to
!. reduce tariffs abroad and
E thereby increase our exports
i and export surplus. There are
!, many more American jobs de-
: pendent upon exports than
d could possibly be adversely af-
Y fected by increased imports
v And those export industries
4 are our strongest, most eff
: cient, highest paying growth
S industries.
1 1t is obvious, therefore. that
i the warnings against increased
}. imports based upon the lower
: level Of wages paid in other
T countries are not telling the