Free Trade Stirs Conversation Among Elected Officials

John Lyon with our content partner, the Arkansas News Bureau, visits with three of Arkansas’ federal officials, who all spoke to at the Arkansas Municipal League conference last week.

The subject of free trade made its way into the conversation.

Reports Lyon:

After Sen. Mark Pryor (D) mentioned that he voted for free-trade agreements with South Korea, Panama and Columbia to create new markets for American agricultural products, Morrilton Mayor Stewart Nelson told the senator there is another side to free trade.

“I just lost 200 jobs in Morrilton because jobs went to Mexico, and before that I lost 1,800 jobs in Morrilton because jobs went to Mexico,” Nelson said.

“When you think about making opportunities for farmers in Columbia, in Korea and all those others, remember that my $10-an-hour worker is having to compete with a $1 worker in another country and those jobs are leaving us. I know Fort Smith just lost some jobs. We’re desperate and we need some help,” he said.

Rep. Tim Griffin (R) also discussed the subject.

Griffin told the Municipal League he asked Caterpillar why it has not moved jobs from its North Little Rock plant to Mexico. He said company officials told him they stayed for the infrastructure, access to skilled and educated workers, and partnership with Pulaski Technical College that they enjoy in Arkansas.

“It’s going to be hard to compete on just labor costs alone, but there are advantages that we have in international trade and we need to make sure that we maintain those,” he said.

You can read the full article here.