美国贸易代表解读TPP对美意义

2月4日，太平洋伙伴关系协定(TPP)12个成员国在新西兰奥克兰市正式签署协定。12个成员国将有两年时间来完全接纳协定内容。这一协议对小企业至关重要。

我们知道，小企业的发展不能仅仅依靠消费者光顾，还要靠我们发扬爱国主义热情，帮助他们进军海外市场。

实际上，小企业是美国经济的顶梁柱。近几十年，小企业贡献了美国私人部门近三分之二的新增就业岗位。小企业也是重要的创新者，每名小企业员工创造的平均专利数，超过大型企业员工16倍。更好的消息是，相较于没有出口业务的小企业，从事出口业务的小企业的销售额更大，创造的工作机会更多，为员工支付的工资要比前者高出18%。

这些统计数据背后的故事更加令人印象深刻。比如，位于华盛顿州皮阿拉市的西北门业公司主要生产车库门，其产品远销世界各地。自2014年以来，这家公司向太平洋地区的出口额增长了50%。在原有245人的基础上，该公司又招聘了不少员工。

在未来若干年，随着亚洲经济实力的持续增长，像西北门业这类美国小企业的出口额也将随之增长。到2030年，亚洲的中产消费者预计将占全球中产消费者的三分之二。西北门业董事长杰夫•霍曼告诉我：“我们发现，随着亚洲中产阶级的崛起，美国的创新产品将迎来光明的出口前景，西北门业肯定不会错过这种机遇。”

另一个鼓舞人心的例子是堪萨斯州威奇托市的先锋气球公司。80多年来，这家公司一直在生产高质量气球，其中逾半数销量来自出口。先锋气球公司认为，出口是其持续扩张的关键所在，，同时也有助于在美国国内招聘和留住人才。因此，要想帮助这类小企业获得成功，我们就必须把目光瞄准国际市场。

通过TPP，我们可以给这些“就业岗位创造者”一个公平的机会，助推它们进军全球市场。

就现状来看，美国已经是全世界最开放的经济体之一。但国外市场则是一幅完全不同的图景，美国的工人与美国企业往往处于不利地位。目前，美国出口商品被征收的平均关税是美国进口商品平均关税的两倍。以先锋气球公司为例，该公司向11个TPP签约国出口货物时被征收20%的关税。西北门业缴纳的关税更是高达25%。

外国关税和法律法规给美国的小企业造成了极为沉重的压力。很多小企业不像大企业那样拥有足够的资源去弄明白复杂的外国法律法规。这就是为什么只有不到5%的美国小企业从事商品出口。换句话说，超过95%的美国小企业错过了全世界95%的客户。

这就是为什么TPP对于支持中小企业发展十分重要。在整整一代人的时间里，TPP是针对美国出口商品减税幅度最大的一次贸易协定，它砍掉了美国工人制造的、美国农民种植的、美国创新者创造的1.8万余种商品的关税。通过砍掉这些外国税款，TPP将帮助西北门业和先锋气球等小企业出口更多商品，并在美国国内创造更多高薪就业机会。另外，随着各国关税规则和程序在TPP框架下变得更加简化和透明（这也是小企业进行海外扩张的最大阻碍之一），小企业的出口产品也能更容易地到达客户手上。

作为一个贸易协定，TPP的特别之处还在于它首次专门拿出一个章节来解决小企业面临的诸多挑战。比如，它要求签约国建立专为小企业服务的公共网站，以传播TPP信息，并告知企业如何利用这些信息。另外，TPP还专门建立了一个委员会，研究小企业如何能够利用TPP，并讨论相关建议。

最让小企业兴奋的是，TPP将大力支持电子贸易和电子商务的发展。互联网是众多小企业连接全球市场的主要渠道，而TPP将继续致力于保持互联网的开放与自由。比如，有些国家要求进入本国市场的外国企业必须在本地设置机构，而TPP则使企业避免付出这种高昂成本。

购物季让大家认识到小企业为经济所做的贡献。但我们的小企业应得的不仅仅是一天的奖励，而是一个星期，甚至一个月。通过TPP，我们可以让小企业获得未来在全球经济中决胜所需的工具。我们可以帮助它们把“小企业星期六”变成“小企业世纪”。（译注：“小企业星期六”是美国的一个购物节日，通常在感恩节后的第一个星期六。）(财富中文网)

本文作者Michael Froman是美国贸易代表。

译者：朴成奎

审校：任文科

We should resolve to help America’s small businesses not only with our patronage at home, but also with our patriotism abroad.

It’s no secret that small businesses are the backbone of the U.S. economy. They account for nearly two-thirds of net new private sector jobs in recent decades. They are major innovators, producing 16 times more patents per employee than large patenting firms. Better yet, small businesses that export sell more, support more jobs, and pay up to 18% higher wages than small businesses that don’t export.

Even more impressive than these statistics are the stories behind them. Take Northwest Door, which produces garage doors in in Puyallup, Wash. and sells them to customers around the world. Since last year, its exports to the Pacific Region have increased 50%, helping the company grow its 245-person workforce.

As Asia’s economic strength grows in the coming years, so could exports from small businesses like Northwest Door. By 2030, Asia is projected to be home to two-thirds of the world’s middle-class consumers. As Northwest Door President Jeff Hohman told me, “We’ve found that with the emerging middle class and the value of American ingenuity and products, there are opportunities for Northwest Door to export.”

Another inspiring example is Pioneer Balloon Company of Wichita, Kan., which has been manufacturing high-quality balloons for more than 80 years. With more than 50% of its sales coming from exports, the company sees export growth as critical to its ability to expand, in addition to being instrumental in the hiring and retention of jobs here at home. However, to help Pioneer and other American small businesses succeed, we need to level the playing field overseas.

Through the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), we can give these local job creators a fair shot at competing in global markets.

As it stands, the U.S. economy is already among the most open in the world. But the picture looks very different abroad, where the situation is too often tilted against American workers and businesses. Currently, average tariffs on American exports to other countries are twice as high as the average tariff we place on foreign imports to the U.S. Pioneer Balloon, for example, faces foreign taxes on U.S. exports as high as 20% in the 11 other countries now signed on to the TPP. Northwest Door faces 25% taxes on its exports.

These foreign taxes and regulations take an especially heavy toll on America’s small businesses. Unlike larger companies, many small businesses lack the resources to navigate complex foreign regulations. That’s one reason why less than 5% of all American small businesses export goods. In other words, more than 95% of our small businesses are missing out on 95% of the world’s customers.

That’s why the TPP is essential to supporting our small businesses. It’s the largest tax cut on American exports in a generation, slashing over 18,000 individual taxes on the products American manufacturers make, American farmers grow, and American innovators create. By cutting those foreign taxes, the TPP will help small businesses like Northwest Door and Pioneer Balloon Company export and support more high-paying American jobs. And by simplifying and making more transparent customs rules and procedures—which are some of the most daunting obstacles for small businesses to expand abroad—the TPP will help ensure that their products more easily make it to their customers.

The TPP is the first trade agreement to have a chapter dedicated to addressing many of the challenges faced by small businesses. That includes, for example, requiring countries to create public websites targeted at small businesses that provide easily accessible information on the agreement and how to take advantage of it. The agreement also establishes a committee to review how small businesses are taking advantage of the TPP and discuss recommendations.

Among the TPP’s most exciting features for small businesses are its provisions promoting digital trade and e-commerce. The Internet is the primary avenue for many small businesses to access the global marketplace, and the TPP will help keep it open and free. For example, it protects against costly requirements that would force businesses to locate infrastructure in the markets in which they seek to operate.

Those shopping-day are opportunities to recognize our small businesses for their contributions to our economy. But our small businesses deserve more than a day, a week, or even a month. Through the TPP, we can give our small businesses the tools they need to win in tomorrow’s global economy. We can help turn Small Business Saturday into a Small Business Century.

Michael Froman is the U.S. Trade Representative.