The Hill News

Imagine that someone presented you with the following proposition: You can have $10, with more to come. You’re just asked to pitch in a penny to improve your neighborhood. You’d probably be quick to take that deal, right? Well, that’s basically the offer on the table right now for the American economy, yet some in Washington are waffling.

Each year international trade adds one trillion dollars to our economy â€" translating into $9,000 in annual benefits for the average household. Trade supports 1 out of 5 American jobs, and jobs sustained by exporting products pay 13-18 percent more than the national average. Overall, trade is a very good deal for America.

But, even as the vast benefits of trade are broadly enjoyed, we can’t pretend that they come for free. It’s been estimated that about 500,000 jobs are lost due to trade each year. These displaced workers, who represent about 3 percent of the large churn in our permanent labor market, essentially f! oot the bill for the greater good that trade does for our economy.

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