CEA: Gadgets are Great, but Trade Matters Too
Jan 8, 2008
Amidst the lure of shiny new gadgets - and the many distractions that make Vegas what it is - the Consumer Electronics Association is hoping to send a message to the 140,000+ assembled for its international CES show: international trade matters.
It's certainly not the first time that CEA has made its pitch on behalf of open markets. Indeed, promoting free trade is one of the organization's key policy priorities. Since many of its 2,200 members sell goods internationally, the association has a big stake in how the federal government acts on trade matters (CEA's government affairs chief Michael Petricone will speak about trade policy at Tech Policy Summit in March).
Congressional opposition and concerns about U.S. workers losing jobs, fueled in large part by the efforts of CNN's outspoken commentator Lou Dobbs, have posed a challenge for CEA and other pro-trade groups that have been backing agreements like those with Colombia, Panama and Korea.
CEA hopes to counter what it sees as protectionist sentiments with a multipronged campaign that is being incorporated into this year's CES extravaganza. The effort includes a series of print ads, a YouTube channel with commentary by industry execs (see the Media Vault for more) and the presence of kiosks on the show floor where eager attendees can send letters to their Congressional representatives urging them to support free trade.
Another highlight will be this afternoon's presentation by United States Trade Representative Ambassador Susan Schwab, who will discuss the status of various agreements and the administration's efforts to expand trade. She and CEA exec Gary Shapiro also held a policy briefing yesterday in which they jointly made the case for why trade is critical to the U.S. economy.
While it's tough for anyone to dispute the fact that American manufacturing is a shadow of its former self, the association touts the consumer electronics industry's role in creating jobs and increasing opportunity for U.S. companies -- a direct aim at critics like Dobbs.
Here's an excerpt from one of CEA's print campaigns:
In 2006, the EU, Canada, Mexico and China - yes, China - purchased $220 billion in American high-tech products. Those purchases, unhampered by trade tariffs, accounted for 21% of total U.S. exports, making high-tech America's largest export sector.
Overall, international trade supports hundreds of thousands of American jobs in the CE industry - and hundreds of thousands more in related sectors. Even goods imported from China alone support 60,000 American jobs. Nothing freezes innovation and job growth like protectionism.UPDATE: Gary Shapiro submitted this op-ed piece to News.com.
Tags:
CES, Tech Policy Summit, trade
