Scott Bruun: Oregon Needs a Pacific Rim Trade Pact

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Scott Bruun, GoLocalPDX MINDSETTER™

It seems the look and demeanor of free trade protestors has improved over the years. The ones I recently saw near the East end of the Burnside Bridge looked like PTA moms or the nice folks you might see waiting at a dentist’s office. They had a few “Say No to TPP” signs, and were smiling and waving at passing motorists. As free trade remains vital to Oregon’s prosperity, I chose not to honk in support of their cause. Yet I’ll give them credit. They were pleasant.

Compare that to the anti-free trade protestors we saw during the 1990’s. Recall the images from Portland, and to a greater degree Seattle. Destructive and disruptive mobs, protesting free trade, NAFTA and the World Bank. Back then, most of the protesters were young white-males. And a surprising number of those young white-males wore dreadlocks, thus providing the watching world with a comical, if not disconcerting, cultural non sequitur.

Comparing those Seattle thugs with the current and polite cast of Burnside Bridge sign-waivers may prove one thing, however. Evolution happens.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership, or “TPP,” is a trade and investment deal currently being negotiated by 12 Pacific Rim nations, including the United States, Canada, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Australia. TPP talks began in 2005, and have now included 20 rounds of negotiations. If authorized by congress, the TPP would link the U.S. with other nations generating more than $28 trillion in combined annual economic output.

A deal like this, one focused on the Pacific Rim, is a game-changer for Oregon. Our state is uniquely, if not perfectly, situated to benefit from the TPP. We have major port capacity in Coos Bay, Astoria and Portland. We have rail and road access up, down and across our state, making Oregon a logical distribution hub for export goods from across the country. Our international airport is among the world’s best. We have a diverse selection of traded-sector industries in high-tech, manufacturing and forest products. And we have an outstanding selection of Oregon gems to offer the world, like Oregon wines, craft beers, wheat and salmon.

Today, almost a half-million Oregon jobs are tied directly or indirectly to international trade. According to the Portland Business Alliance, the value of goods and services exported from Oregon in 2012 was more than $26 billion. The TPP would help Oregon broaden commerce with existing partners like Canada and Australia; while opening doors with new partners like Japan, Vietnam and Malaysia. In ten years, Oregon could see employment from trade double, and exports triple. A much-needed shot in both arms for Oregon’s economy.

Which leads to Senator Ron Wyden.

As a well-respected centrist-Democrat, Wyden has a huge role to play in securing passage of the TPP. Wyden also has a critical role in securing “fast-track” authority for the president, which is the only way the TPP will get done. Without fast-track authority, congress, under pressure from certain labor and environmental interest groups, will certainly delay and dissect any new trade proposal to death.

The TPP has broad Republican support. It’s also a stated priority of the Obama Administration. The issue is congressional Democrats. Apparently, with a certain D.C. crowd, good-paying jobs, economic growth and new opportunities for cultural connection play second-fiddle to special interests.

Wyden, on the other hand, has long demonstrated courageous leadership on free trade. In this arena, he knows what makes Oregon tick. Only Nixon could go to China. So to, perhaps only a respected Democrat like Ron Wyden can stand up to the grossly-inaccurate anti-trade rhetoric coming from his side of the aisle.

In any event, he’ll need that courage. It seems my early analysis of the modern protestor was premature. It turns out, we learned last weekend, that those anti-TPP protestors have moved past the Burnside Bridge, and are now picketing Wyden’s Portland home. In doing this, in violating the privacy of Wyden and his neighbors, Portland’s anti-trade protestors have demonstrated a level of clownish buffoonery akin to those dreadlocked Seattle thugs.

So much for evolution.

Scott Bruun is a fifth-generation Oregonian and recovering politician. He lives with his family in the 'burbs', yet dutifully commutes to Portland every day where he earns his living in public affairs with Hubbell Communications.