Trade is a Hot Issue
Anne Kim, director of the Middle Class Program and senior policy advisor for the Third Way was introduced by Michael Petricone, senior vice president, Government and Legal Affairs, Consumer Electronics Association (CEA).
Anne Kim starts by saying - resolutely - that all of us knew trade was going to be a hot issue during this election season.
America’s fate and talking tough The fate of the Democratic nomination and the presidency may hinge on who can talk toughest on a 14-year trade deal aka NAFTA. Anne stated that the American public has turned its back on trade. We’re losing the battle on trade and we’re losing badly.
Three actions that free trade supporters need to take -Acknowledge that old arguments aren’t working anymore. Many perceive free trade issues as passing things — like bad hair or bell bottoms (ha); - learn from the opposition (i.e. free trade supporters must learn from the anti-free-trade view); -Build a new approach with new ideas and new strategies.
House voting on trade needs perspective Anne feels that Congressional support for free trade has been sliding with only 11 percent of Congressional democrats voting in favor of negotiating an FTA with the country of Oman.
Educating public opinion 67 Percent of Americans believe that free trade kills jobs. This is clearly not true – free trade enables growth. Many Americans think of trade as a charity and a threat to our national sovereignty . Some see it as a trade off between low prices and American jobs.
Know your opponent Anne quoted from Sun Tzu’s She’s Art of War – “Know Your Enemy”. She showed footage of some actual advertisements that are designed to influence consumers against trade.
Key take away from these anti-trade messages They fight on the battleground of values while we (we being proponents of free trade) — fight on the battleground of data.
Key strategies of anti-free trade campaigns which pro-trade should adopt now: espouse powerful values like fairness, justice, respect for fundamental rights; -realize you can disprove a ‘number or piece of data’ but cannot oppose a value; -focus on ordinary people…not businesses or the economy at large; -understand power of ownership within debate terms. Anti-trade advocates define trade narrowly to their benefit. -build stories effectively and use powerful narratives to communicate values. She cites a persuasive Oxfam ad of a struggling farmer not receiving adequate pay for his work.
Power of stories Free-trade supporters have to tell our stories in addition to the data.
Recapping effective strategies for pro-trade messaging -need to define our opponents; -tell our stories; -create a better safety net; - establish a ’success agenda’ to help middle classes overcome fear of free trade; -create and communicate a vision of positive values that clearly states free trade benefits; -inspire confidence of free trade values in Americans.
Be clear on what’s at stake Finally, Anne urged us to decide whether we’re looking to the coming century with fear or confidence. Will we lead or recede in the world economy? We must decide.
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