On Tuesday evening at the Republican Convention, an unmistakable endorsement of free trade was telegraphed.  As SBSC has noted time and again, international trade is not the exclusive domain of large multinationals, but instead is overwhelmingly populated by small and mid-size businesses.

U.S. Rep. Jim Kolbe noted some of the economic benefits of free trade: "Trade is an engine of growth and a source of high-wage jobs.  And today, trade is equal to 30 percent of our domestic economy, and it supports 12 million American jobs."

However, Kolbe did not stop at the economics.  He made the moral case for open international trade as well: "As Americans, we believe that the case for trade is not just monetary, but moral.  It is not just a matter of commerce, but a matter of conscience.  Ronald Reagan called trade 'a forward strategy for freedom.'  And we have seen that freedom, once tasted, is irresistible.  The world awaits our people, our products, and our principles.  America must seize this opportunity."

Raymond J. Keating
Chief Economist
Small Business Survival Committee
and co-author of U.S. by the Numbers:
Figuring What's Left, Right, and Wrong with America State by State