SUSTAINABLE REGIONS AND GLOBAL TRADE
A
workshop on global trade and its relation to socially, ecologically, and economically
sustainable regional development - at both ends & everywhere in-between.
• Presentations, Discussions, Updates, Training, Networking, Exhibits, Site Visits
• February 17-18, 2006 - School for International Training - Brattleboro, Vermont 05302, USA
ginvermontworkshop@sit.edu www.sit.edu www.greeningofindustry.org
WKVT AM Radio -- February 16, 2006
Outline:
What is this event?
“Sustainable Regions and Global Trade”
Friday, February 17 and Saturday, February 18, 2006
School for International Training (SIT), Brattleboro,
Vermont
Partner: The Greening of Industry Network (GIN)
A sponsor: The Brattleboro Foreign Trade Zone (BFTZ)
Is it open to the public?
Absolutely.
But please register inline at www.greeningofindustry.org so we know
you’re coming!
What’s this workshop about?
It’s about linking the discussion of
how to generate jobs and investment in this area through more international
trade … with the discussion of what sustainable development here and elsewhere
really means. Included will be topics
like how a foreign trade zone works and how fair trade works in practice. Another topic that’s on people’s minds a lot
these days is how local businesses can compete with big box stores and
outsourcing that take advantage of global supply routes that start in countries
with extremely low wages.
What is “sustainable regional
development”?
Well, the standard definition is
“development that meets the needs of present generations without compromising
the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.
Concretely, to me personally, in this
region it means things like:
·
Using
as much renewable, locally available and locally controlled energy as possible
·
Eliminating
dependence on fossil fuels and nuclear energy
·
Sourcing
a much, much larger proportion of food within a few hundred miles
·
Continuing
to develop a human living environment that is safe, civil, culturally
stimulating and rewarding, politically vital and healthy, etc.
·
Managing
to do this without depleting or fouling critical natural resources like our forests,
waters, biodiversity, agricultural soils, or genetic materials.
What is a “foreign trade zone”?
It’s a limited geographic area –
several hundred acres, in Brattleboro’s case – where goods can be imported,
stored, processed/assembled, and even re-exported without US Customs
considering them as having officially entered the US.
This means no import duties or customs
tarifs are due (unless or until they do formally clear US Customs). This can save on or delay very significant
cash outlays until there’s revenue to cover them. It also cuts costs and bureaucracy because it
means that a shipment will now be able to reach Brattleboro from abroad on one
freight insurance policy (a saving), on one freight ticket (no transshipment
must take place, and with no costly, typically slow customs clearance somewhere
else.
In the foreign trade zone, all other
US laws and regulations apply as they normally do. For example, environmental, health &
safety, natural resource, tax, or immigration laws will not be relaxed or
waived.
A “FTZ” designated by the US
Government is not the same as a “free trade zone,” “free port,” or “free (or
special) economic zone” as defined in other countries.
What is unique about the
Brattleboro Foreign Trade Zone?
Who is participating?
A pretty diverse group of business
people, state and local government officials, academics, students, and
activists have registered so far … from around the US, Canada, and Europe. Kevin Dorn, Vermont’s Secretary of Commerce
and Community Development, will be one of them.
How many people do you expect?
Between 40 and 60.
What do you hope to achieve?
First, we want to generate a quality conversation about the public
policy here and in regions like ours that can set the stage for successful,
responsible trade-based business growth that diversifies Windham County’s
economy and helps us build and attract more high-skills industry. (A spin-off will be greater project and job
opportunities for SIT graduates.)
Second, we want to encourage networking and sharing of expertise that
leads to new trade-related business start-ups, including but not limited to
fair and ethical trade (which I believe Vermont has a considerable competitive
advantage in).
Third, we’d like people to really
engage with the question of how much
production of commodities, goods, and services that are currently traded –
globally, even – should be done locally
or in this region, given the expectation in the future of much higher oil
and gas prices, greater political and social turmoil as the oil peak is reached
and passed, and – possibly – greater volatility of the US dollar.
I’m not convinced that globalization
of trade has been good on balance for workers and locally owned businesses and
farms in Vermont…
Will there be any follow-up to
this?
Nothing concrete is planned, but we
hope to make this an annual event, which will be useful as real business
activity starts to emerge from the Brattleboro Foreign Trade Zone, and provide
good practical opportunities for SIT students interested in fair trade, trade
in general, and starting up a global trade-based business.
Where do you fit into this? What is your interest?
My most
basic interests in this are two-fold:
·
First, to find ways to enhance the
economic vitality of Brattleboro so all of our kids have decent schools,
recreational choices, cultural exposure, public infrastructure, and safety and
security in the future;
·
Second, to expand ways in which World
Learning/SIT can pursue its mission through development strategies based on
fair and ethical trade, as opposed to traditional development aid.
Two specific,
personal interests are:
·
First, my property taxes took a huge
upward jump in 2005, and I want a broader tax base so they’ll at least hold
steady for a long time. This means more
employers and decently paid employees, ASAP!
·
Second, when I have time, I sell
marketing consulting services to clients in Europe, and I’d love to find
clients around here in need of the same thing – particularly firms trying to
enter European markets.
What is SIT’s
interest in the workshop and in foreign trade in Brattleboro?
Speaking personally …
Doing things like this is part of World Learning’s
mission: getting people talking and
working together in service of democracy, social justice, intercultural and
international understanding, and sustainable communities.
Plus, I think World Learning and its subsidiary SIT want
Brattleboro to be economically secure, with fiscally healthy public finances. We want this to be a safe, friendly,
supportive community for the hundreds of students and other visitors who come
to Brattleboro every year to study or be trained at SIT. We want good public services. Our employees, many from other countries,
want to live and work in a place that can provide meaningful work, livable
wages, cultural experiences, decent housing, quality health care, and all the
other things a community needs, and these take the money generated by a vital
economy made up of profitable private enterprises.
Factoids:
GLOBAL
LOCAL
Vermont Economics
· Vermont Leads the Nation in
International Exports as a Percentage of Gross State Product. Vermont is #1 at 18.4%,
#2 is Washington state at 15.6% followed by Louisiana and Texas. The average
for the rest of the New England states is 5%.
· A dollar retained in VT has the
same economic and fiscal impact as a dollar earned from exports.
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