On the Dubai Ports deal, two authors have it right over at Human Events. The FINDINGS of the 9/11 Commission, our own history with former adversaries, and the beliefs in market economics mandate that the ports deal is the right way to go.The sale of port facilities to Dubai World Ports, a government-owned company in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has sparked an outcry that now threatens America's free trade agenda. Legitimate concern over the sale has led Congress to review the oversight of foreign direct investment in the U.S. Some in Congress, however, would move beyond that inquiry and use national security concerns as an excuse to erect barriers to trade. Their proposals include halting free trade negotiations with the UAE, requiring annual congressional certification of existing trade agreements, and subjecting major foreign investments to congressional approval.
Protectionism of this sort is no way to boost national security. In fact, it would do the opposite. Protectionism would endanger U.S. prosperity -- the cornerstone of security -- strain relationships with important allies in the war on terrorism, and make it more difficult to use trade as a tool to spread American values and bolster U.S. interests. A successful strategy for improving national security must include free trade and investment.
Well, duh...how do you think we helped bring the Soviets down? We showed them our trade goods and got citizens there thinking, man, we should have some of that stuff...why dont we have it?
Economic freedom, of which free trade is a major component, leads to faster economic growth and improved standards of living. According to The Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom,countries with freer trade policies experience higher per-capita GDP growth than countries that maintain trade barriers. Countries that opened their trade policies between 1995 and 2004 saw their per-capita GDP grow at an average compound rate of 2.5 percent. Countries whose trade policies were unchanged experienced an average compound growth rate of 2.1 percent in per capita GDP. Finally, countries that increased their barriers to trade managed only a 1.8 percent average compound growth rate.
These results support the 9/11 Commission's recommendation that "a comprehensive U.S. strategy to counter terrorism should include economic policies that encourage development, more open societies, and opportunities for people to improve the lives of their families and to enhance prospects for their children’s future."
Consistent with the 9/11 Commission's recommendations, the Administration authorized the negotiation of a free trade agreement with the UAE in 2004 as part of President Bush's plan to create a Middle East Free Trade Area (MEFTA) by 2013. This move enjoyed broad bipartisan support at the time of the Administration's initial consultations with Congress. Last month, the USTR announced that it intends to resume free trade talks with the UAE in March.
Oh, and to all you folks who think no one foreign should run the ports. Ummm, we got a little problem. Foreign businesses run all of our ports! My God! This is an outrage! We are so vulnerable to terrorism! Uh, no. Try again. Ask any trucker who has to make port deliveries and pickups about the security. You are checked at least four times, you have to have the proper paperwork, your truck might be searched, your cargo or pickup might be searched. All of that goes on regardless of which company runs the ports.
The real question is: why are so many port companies leaving the business in America. Why did the Chinese pass on this deal in America, to run big ports? The answer, of course, is the unions. The longshoremen's union refuses to embrace any change that would speed up deliveries while preserving security, because they must have that guy who has to check everything by hand rather than scanner's 30 dollar an hour plus paycheck to get dues from. The Unions priced US companies out of doing ports a long time ago, now they are pricing other firms, like the British firm that was bought out by Dubai World Ports.
This deal is not hindering security. Long term, it is strengthening it.
