By Doug Cunningham

As President Obama focuses on growing jobs in an economic recovery global trade becomes critical to the mission. Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch says trade is still a net job loser for the United States, with 5.1 million manufacturing jobs lost as 43,000 factories have closed since the North American Free Trade agreement and the World Trade Organization came into being. Trade does not equal U.S. jobs. U.S. export growth is in fact much greater to nations with which we have no free trade agreements. So if Obama is serious about U.S. job growth, Global Trade Watch says, he will see to it that we realize net export gains and cut our huge trade deficit.