Commerce Department Touts Turkish Trade Initiative

By Kyle LaFleur

Top trade and commerce officials from the United States and Turkey held the inaugural meeting of the US-Turkey Framework For Strategic Economic and Commercial Cooperation Tuesday in Washington. In attendance were U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan and Turkish Foreign Trade Minister Zafer Caglayan.  

“Trade between Turkey and the United States totaled nearly $11 billion last year, mutually beneficial trade,” said Locke. “We believe that through this framework and other dialogues, we can build on this robust commercial relationship to the mutual benefit of the peoples of both of our great nations.”

The framework discussed today has created a US-Turkish Business Council which will provide policy recommendations from business leaders and help each government improve economic relations. The first scheduled meeting of this council is set for 2011.

The FSECC also finalized text on a Memorandum of Intent (MOI) which Locke said will increase bilateral foreign direct investment. That document will be signed by leaders from the two nations later tise year.

“In other areas including energy, transportation, regulatory and scientific cooperations, intellectual property rights, both sides have agreed on activities to help boost bilateral trade and investment in the months ahead,” Locke added. 

The Commerce Department believes that a tighter partnership between the U.S and Turkey will yield more jobs in America.

“The more that our businesses are able to sell, not just to each other but around the world, the more they are going to produce,” said Locke. “The more they produce, the more they are going to need people to make those products and provide those services, and that means good paying jobs.”

The Right to Defend Oneself

By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service

“We all have an inherent right to self defense in international waters,” according to Senator Jim Webb (D-VA). This remark came out of a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing that saw testimony from Richard Phillips, Captain of the Maersk Alabama. Phillips received international media attention several weeks ago while being held hostage by pirates off of the coast of Somalia.

Both the Senators and the witnesses acknowledged that Piracy off of the coast of Somalia has been on the rise recently. Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-Mass.) said that America’s “ability to project naval power and to help ensure the free passage of goods and humanitarian aid is as important as ever.”

Phillips acknowledged that more needs to be done to secure vessels of the merchant marine, specifically arming the crew.

“In my opinion, arming the crew cannot and should not be viewed as the best or ultimate solution to the problem. At most, arming the crew should only be one component of a comprehensive plan and approach to combat piracy,” he said.

The comprehensive approach the committee discussed could include increased U.S. Navy presence in the most dangerous areas, the creation of a protected corridor that civilian ships can travel within, the rooting out of pirates in their land based sanctuaries and the “hardening” of ships, to make the ships structurally more resistant to pirates. “Hardening” measures include razor wire on railings, fire hoses to repel the pirates, and unbolting ladders that lead onto the boat. Phillips does not believe this will stop the pirates, but rather, that they will find a way to adapt.

Maersk Chaiman John Clancey, also present at the hearing, does not believe that arming the crews is a good idea.

“Our belief is that arming merchant sailors may result in the acquisition of even more lethal weapons and tactics by the pirates, a race that merchant sailors cannot win. In addition, most ports of call will not permit the introduction of forearms into their national waters,” Clancey said.

Clancey also posed that greater liability may be assumed by the companies if sailors are traveling with weapons. Neither Chairman Kerry nor Phillips felt that this argument was strong, because of the intense amount of training that mariners go through already. Kerry, a former member of the U.S. Navy, feels that the benefits outweigh the risks, and that multinational agreements can be reached to work out the issue of bringing weapons into port.

Richard Phillips is scheduled to testify next week before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Napolitano: U.S. Cracking Down On Borders From North To South

by Christina Lovato, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service

Janet Napolitano, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said that the United States, Mexico and Canada all rely on trade but with the increase in illegal immigration and drug and weapon trafficking, it is time for more modern and safe border security.

Today Napolitano spoke at the 2009 Border Trade Alliance International Conference and addressed not only border security issues but trade issues.

The Border Trade Alliance is a grassroots non-profit that serves as a forum for participants to address key issues affecting trade and economic development in North America.

Before heading to Mexico City with President Obama last week, Napolitano visited several American southern states to address the escalating violence in Mexico and the rise in drug and weapon trafficking among Mexico and the U.S.

Since 2006, when Mexico’s President, Felipe Calderon increased his efforts against drug cartels, more than 10,000 people have been killed in Mexico due to drug-related violence.

Because of the increase in violence at the U.S.-Mexico border, President Obama has dispatched hundreds of federal agents along with high-tech surveillance gear and drug-sniffing dogs, to the Southwest border to help Mexico in it’s fight with drug cartels.

Napolitano said that the U.S. is engaged and focused on border issues not only from a security standpoint but from a trade standpoint.

“The two go together, we cannot separate one from the other,” she said.

Napolitano said the United States is not only working to end illegal immigration, drug and weapon trafficking and unlawful trade with the Mexican government but also with the Canadian government as well.

“We don’t want to appear to go heavy on the southern border and light on the northern border. We will have a balanced approach consistent with effective security for our entire country,” she said.

Napolitano said that the U.S. needs to respect the differences between the northern and southern borders.

“There needs to be a level of parity between the two borders,” she said.

But Napolitano said that the two borders share similar concerns regarding security, trade, illegal entry, and drug smuggling.

“We need to deal with circumstances on the ground. On the southern border it means protecting against drug cartel violence in combating illegal entry.... We’ve added more personal and technology. We’ve created a southbound strategy to stop the flow of guns and bulk cash into Mexico,” she said.

Napolitano said that the U.S. is providing new technology for Canada and have added five new U.S. Customs and Border Protection Marine and air branches, and 24 integrated border enforcement teams that include Canadian law enforcement officials.

“We don’t want to damage economic security in the name of homeland security,” she said.

Napolitano also spoke about the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, which will require all travelers coming into the U.S. from Canada or Mexico to present a passport or other document that denotes identity and citizenship.

“These are real borders, this is a real law, and I am really charged with implementing it and I take that charge very seriously,” she said.

Although the Mexican and Canadian borders are different in climate and geography, both share a common goal to have a “modern border, an efficient border and a safe and secure border for both people and for commerce," Napolitano said.

Congressional leaders discuss aggressive new trade agenda

In a conference call this afternoon, a group of prominent members of Congress discussed launching a new trade bill. Among those contributing were Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Oh), Representative Mike Michaud (D-Me), Representative Betty Sutton (D-Oh), and Citizens Trade Campaign director, Andy Gussert.

Brown said that in 1992 the trade deficit in the U.S. was 38 billion dollars and in 2007 the trade deficit was over 750 billion dollars. Specifically, the trade deficit with China has gone up 1200% since 1992. He said that because of these staggering statistics, he and his colleagues have put serious thought into a bill that will give U.S. trade a different direction. Brown said that one of the major problems with the trade policy is the tendency for U.S. based companies to outsource jobs to other countries, which hurts the U.S. economy, which is why part of the new trade agenda is the Patriotic Employment Act, which is designed to offer tax incentives to companies that decide to manufacture goods in the U.S. The Senator from Ohio said that because this bill contains so many new ideas it probably won’t make it through congress this year, but that it is a step in the right direction.

Michaud said that this new trade agenda is not opposed to trade, it is opposed to the way the US participates in trade. He said that the agenda is focused on developing a set of guidelines that can be implemented and will be used as a “roadmap” for future trade negotiations. Michaud said that bad trade policies were costing Americans jobs and that working class families understand the need for a new trade policy.