Drew Greenblatt says he has two primary issues he would like to see addressed at the Group of 20 summit taking place in Pittsburgh this week. The first has to do with pending free-trade agreements with South Korea, Panama and Columbia, says Greenblatt, president of Baltimore-based Marlin Steel Wire Products LLC.
"We want a lot of exports. We need factories exporting like crazy," Greenblatt says. "It's imperative that we set the tone for the world that we're pro free trade."
The small manufacturer of wire baskets with sales estimated at $4 million in 2008 has thrived on international sales, says Greenblatt, who purchased the company in 1998 and has testified in front of Congress on small-business issues. Within the past month, the company has exported to as far away as Belgium, Singapore, Ireland and Brazil.
President Obama has pledged to move forward with the trade deals signed under the Bush administration but left unratified over concerns relating to alleged human rights abuses in Columbia and Panama and access for U.S. automakers to the South Korean market.
Senator Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, has been a staunch critic of existing and pending free-trade agreements, including those in South Korea, Panama and Columbia. Brown addressed some of his concerns in a news conference he called to prior to the G-20 summit.
"The U.S. cannot only be the world's consumer," he said on Sept. 22. "Manufacturing will lead the way for U.S. economic recovery, and that also means we need to abide by trade rules. At this week's summit, leaders of the G-20 nations have an opportunity to clarify that legitimate governmental actions, like trade enforcement, are not acts of protectionism."
Brown praised Obama for his recent decision to impose tariffs on Chinese-made tires, a move made after union leaders claimed imports of cheap tires from China had tripled over the last five years.
While the move garnered praise from fellow Democrats and labor leaders, it has concerned Chinese leaders who fear it will lead to more tariffs on other goods. China's concerns appear to have some merit, as three U.S. coated paper manufacturers and the United Steelworkers of America said Sept. 23 they had filed anti-dumping and countervailing duty petitions addressing imports of certain coated papers from China and Indonesia.
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