WASHINGTON – At times it becomes difficult to comprehend the number of international groups to which the United States belongs. Looking through an organizational listing in Washington, D.C. has many times been referred to as “Acronym Hell”. Every group representing every conceivable interest group has someone working the beat on Capitol Hill at some point during the year.

Awash in a sea of groups, all vying for the same finite amount of attention, some have been able to assert themselves and stand out. The NRA is prominent because of its zealous membership and strong voting angle. The Chamber of Commerce represents many of the moneymakers in American private business. The list can go on and on. There is no shortage of groups trying to push policy in our nation’s capital, but some are more effective than others.

Take, for example, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). This group was founded in 1989 as a forum for 12 original “member economies” in the Pacific Rim. Obviously Japan, and South Korea were prominent figures in the organization, but the original membership also included Australia, New Zealand, and the United States.

As the organization has grown, adding 9 new members, it has become a truly global voice. In terms of the size of its membership APEC is only truly surmounted by the United Nations and the WTO. APEC nations represent 40 percent of the world’s population, 55 percent of its GDP, and 44 percent of total world trade.

The organization is built upon the lofty pillars of trade and investment liberalization, business facilitation, and economic and technical cooperation. This makes APEC one of the most prominent “free traders” in the world today.

On July 14 the National Center for APEC (NCAPEC) held a private get together just inches from the White House at the Willard Intercontinental hotel. Aside from the various businesses and trade groups in attendance, the private party also played host to United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk, and Representative Kevin Brady (R-Texas). Senator Max Baucus (Montana), after a long delay, arrived just in time to provide the keynote.

The room erupted into a congratulatory cacophony when the ambassador from the Republic of Korea was introduced and thanked for his hard work on forging ahead with the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement. According to both Senator Baucus and Representative Brady, ratifying this treaty in Congress will be the most important thing our national legislature accomplishes in the next year.

It seemed as if not one mind in the room had any question regarding the merits of free trade. Ideas like “economies of scale”, “public-private partnership”, and “worker retraining” were talked about as grand goals of trade liberalization.

Unfortunately, these aren’t truly goals. These are a means by which goals can be achieved; they are not goals unto themselves. Merely having a desire to run faster is not a goal. Speed is the means by which a goal, winning a race, can be achieved.

In the avenue of international commerce, our political leadership has no goals. They have empty ideals and failed methodology. They ingratiate themselves with organizations like APEC in order to forward their own positions, but they provide nothing substantive and lasting to the people they represent.

Senator Max Baucus has used his position with APEC to bring a ministerial meeting to Big Sky, Montana. There, he claims, the APEC delegation can see the wonders of free trade at work in America’s heartland. Montana is the 44th most populous state in America. Its economy is still largely based on cereal farming and ranching. It is hardly a good snapshot of greater American economy. Spending a few days in a luxury hotel, while perhaps heading out to see a large successful corn growing, or visiting a dude ranch will not give any perspective on the greater American economy. It will help Senator Baucus brag to his political circle and his voting constituents back home.

In November 2011 the annual APEC summit is set to kick off in Honolulu, Hawaii. President Barack Obama will be in attendance, and while we can expect his speech to last longer and flow better than Senator Baucus’ it will likely carry just as little substance.

Proponents of “free trade” can see no faults in their logic. One individual said, “you can’t claim that trade hasn’t made life better can you?” Sure, trade has given us more things. We wouldn’t have such nice shiny toys without the wonders of free trade. We also wouldn’t have the trade-related unemployment, or the destabilizing deficits that have drained trillions of dollars out of what was once a vibrant and constantly growing American economy.

If we are going to live in a state-system, with national borders, national currencies, and national economies, we cannot think that allowing business to flow wherever it wants whenever it pleases is going to be a model for success. We know for a fact that America’s listless pursuit of “free trade at all costs” has resulted in lost jobs, reduced GDP, and weakened national security. The figures are undeniable. Yet our only solution as of yet is “more free trade”.

Senator Baucus talked about the need for “re-training” of our industrial workforce as we transition into a “21st century economy.” This is the same sort of industrial “re-training” that then-Senator John Kennedy spoke of 50 years ago during his presidential bid. Perhaps, after 50 years of failing, it is time to realize that some things just aren’t meant to be.

Washington, D.C. can easily look away from the broken homes and shattered dreams that accompany a paper mill moving to China. It can talk about economic metrics and projections of mutual growth. What it can’t do is deny the fact that its policies have failed the people who are supposed to matter the most.

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