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Show SPECIAL WASHINGTON REPORT I"'' s 1 "'At)- - jjllj U.S. Must Win Economic Test By U.S. Sen. Clair Engle (D-California) Currently presiding over Senate Commerce bearings on the promotion of exports It has been evident for some time that our exports have not kept pace with the expanding world market. While the countries of Western Europe and Japan have been increasing their share of exports to foreign markets, the share of the United States has been declining. It would be a mistake to take the view that so long as we can keep up with "last year" there is nothing to worry about. The world population is increasing. Worldwide demand for commodities com-modities is increasing. If the U.S. share of world market declines, de-clines, we are only deceiving ourselves if we become complacent because we exported as much this year as we exported last year. Percentagewise, the U.S. in the years 1954 to 1956 supplied 31.9 percent of all goods exported ex-ported in world trade. By 1958 our share dropped to 29.8. Our Senator Clair Enge (D-California) was elected to the U.S. Senate In 1958, after having served in the House of Representatives for 15 years. One of his major interests in fhe Senate has been the development devel-opment of a more flexible interna-tional interna-tional trade policy. share of exports of manufactured manufac-tured goods dropped from 28.4 to 26.3 percent. The same shrinkage took place in exports of agricultural commodities and raw materials. It is a program that will make it possible for the United States market and the European Common Market to be "harnessed "har-nessed together into a team capable cap-able of pulling the full weight of our common military, economic eco-nomic and political aspirations." Last fall the U.S. Senate recorded re-corded its concern about our declining exports when it passed a bill that I had introduced to correct a number of defects in our export procedures and to get our exports on the move. The bill is pending in the House. Even if it does not become law, it has served a very constructive purpose. We cannot maintain our political and moral world leadership lead-ership if we fail to maintain a leading position in the expanding expand-ing world economy. Apart from this global role, and apart from the effect increased world trade would have on our economic eco-nomic growth at home, we are confronted with the need to close the gap in our balance of payments. So long as the United States must carry heavy defense and assistance burdens abroad, the expansion of exports is still the most effective way to close this gap. The President's trade program pro-gram is much more than a proposal pro-posal to revise our trade law. It is a bold new program to bring the United States in step with a highly competitive, fast changing new world. It has jogged Government agencies into activity. I was pleased to learn recently at hearings before the Senate Commerce Com-merce Committee that the Department De-partment has put into effect several of the recommendations included in my bill. The Department, under this Administration, is shifting from a passive stance to an active one on a number of its international interna-tional trade program. The world market is on the move and we must move with it. We need a trade policy that serves notice that we intend to use all means at our command to expand world markets for our products and that we intend in-tend to keep our own market open to all who want to do business with us on a fair and reciprocal basis. |