The U.S. Chamber, through its grassroots trade education program, TradeRoots, is a proud partner of the World Trade Center in New Orleans. This year we cemented this relationship by launching a statewide effort in conjunction with the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry to unite the pro-trade organizations, chambers, and elected officials from across the state in our effort to emphasize the positive impact trade has on Louisiana. These groups, and the New Orleans Chamber, are to be commended for all their work in promoting trade, entrepreneurship, and a free market economy.

As a chamber executive, I certainly appreciate the work of local chambers and groups like the World Trade Center to help small businesses capitalize on overseas opportunities. Safe Haven Enterprises is a good example of one of the millions of small- and mid-size U.S. firms that depend on foreign markets for revenue growth, profits, and job creation here at home. 

Safe Haven Enterprises is headquartered in Lafayette and has manufacturing facilities in Jennings, but the reach of this Louisiana company is truly international. Safe Haven currently exports its products, including disaster-resistant buildings and secure doors and windows, to over 10 countries.

All told, exports account for nearly 95% of the company's sales. With customers in the corporate, residential, and government sectors, overseas markets are absolutely essential for their continued success. The question for companies like Safe Haven is, "Will those opportunities continue to exist and multiply, or will the door close on us because of a backward looking trade policy in Washington?"
 
In difficult economic times like the present, a natural first instinct is to turn inward, to protect the remaining businesses and jobs. But that's an approach that simply won't work. In a new, more competitive global economy, we need to expand our engagement with the world--not shrink it. Looking back some 30 years ago, the United States was still calling most of the shots in the global economy. Today, nearly half of the world economy is centered in the Asia-Pacific region. Fierce new competitors--and markets of great opportunity, from China to India to Brazil--are rapidly emerging. 

These developments are not only reshaping global economics, they are altering geopolitics. Emerging nations are projecting their commercial influence into other spheres--securing capital and the best human talent, making deals for oil and natural resources, and flexing their economic muscle to advance their strategic interests. How is the United States responding to the new global race for jobs, markets, influence, and leadership? 

In my view, we are not stepping up on the worldwide stage as boldly, as vigorously, or as smartly as we must. Our nation faces a fundamental choice. In a new global economy, and in the midst of a major economic downturn, do we hunker down and turn inward--or do we act boldly to ensure that America is as pre-eminent in the 21st century as we were in the 20th century?