Exports Benefit U.S. Workers

Robert E. Scott’s column on the proposed fast-track trade legislation (Opinion, Nov. 2) was simply wrong in its claim that trade hurts American workers.

No one benefits from international trade more than our working men and women. Exporting created nearly one-third of new jobs between 1986 and 1994, and currently supports more than 12 million jobs nationwide. While overall employment grew just 15% during this period, the number of export-related jobs in America increased by more than 60%. And workers engaged in exporting earn more than those involved with non-exporting firms--almost 40% more in average benefits and, for blue-collar workers, 13% more in average wages.

It should also be noted that the Labor Department has certified some 125,000 people as being adversely affected by U.S. investment in, and imports from, Canada and Mexico, our NAFTA trading partners. While they deserve help in obtaining job training and professional opportunities, their number is about equal to that of the new jobs created in the U.S. every two weeks.

Adding environmental and employment provisions to our trade bills is an imposition other nations simply will not countenance.

This is not to suggest that we turn a blind eye to labor or environmental issues. It is to suggest that tying controversial matters of wage and environmental law to trade pacts is a good way to doom our ability to trade with non-Western nations.

JERRY J. JASINEWSKI

President, National Assn.

of Manufacturers, Washington