by John Murphy

Earlier this month, the Economic Policy Institute issued its latest “study” on how U.S. trade agreements supposedly cost the United States jobs. The Chamber pointed out a number of its errors earlier.

But when the Memphis, Tennessee, Commercial Appeal ran a story on the study, Mike Ducker, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of FedEx Express (and Chairman of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce International Policy Committee), issued this letter to the editor in response. It’s an eloquent response from someone who knows how trade translates directly into American jobs:

The Economic Policy Institute's claim that free-trade agreements eliminate U.S. jobs (May 15 article, "Study says free-trade pacts cost jobs") is misleading and inaccurate.

Labor-funded EPI has long blamed NAFTA for lost jobs. This Teamster-supported study asserts the U.S. lost a net of 682,900 jobs in the 16 years since NAFTA came into force in 1994, most of them in manufacturing.

In fact, the U.S. economy added a net 15 million new jobs, including 700,000 manufacturing jobs, in the first five years of NAFTA. A 13.6 percent increase in total new jobs more than doubled the 6.6 percent increase in total working population during the same five-year period.

Similarly, GDP, air cargo and truck tonnage all grew at or close to twice the pace registered during the comparable five-year period before NAFTA -- a clear indication of the positive impact of free trade.

The multiplier effect of trade on jobs and income is substantial. For example, FedEx operations globally generate 530,572 jobs and $28.9 billion in labor income. In the U.S., FedEx generates 409,455 jobs and $21.6 billion in labor income.

Free trade has proved indispensable for sustaining U.S. competitiveness on a global scale. The U.S. today enjoys a trade surplus in manufactured goods with our trade agreement partners, on top of our large global trade surpluses in services and agricultural products. A 2010 study by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce found that U.S. trade agreements have created more than 5.4 million jobs.

In Tennessee, it's no coincidence that Canada and Mexico are the top two export markets for our goods. State exports to these two countries have nearly doubled in the past eight years, topping $10 billion in 2010. Today, the jobs of more than 75,000 Tennesseans depend directly on exports, with hundreds of thousands more jobs supported indirectly.

Finally, your article fails to consider why Democrats and Republicans, from President Barack Obama to House Speaker John Boehner, support the trade agreements with Korea, Colombia and Panama: These are budget-neutral, job-creating export agreements that would guarantee a level playing field for American workers.