Obama’s Trip to Latin America Commendable

President Obama’s decision to maintain the course and go through with his planned trip to South America was met with expectant skepticism and derision from the right. Yet these criticisms do more to highlight his critics’ penchant for obsessing over short-term prospects than for considering the long-term prosperity of the United States.

Ed Morrissey on Hot Air writes the president’s decision underscores his sheepishness on demonstrating leadership. He also wonders how the Commander in Chief can leave Washington when a potential scaling up of weapons and pilots is necessary to enforce the United Nations No-Fly Zone resolution against Libya. Newt Gingrich said on Fox News last Thursday that the president is a “spectator in chief,” and even Politico asks “why now?”  

The violence in Libya may be a sexier affair, but America’s hands are tied—an international, not a United States-led, effort to ultimately whisk power from Muammar Ghadafi is the only way the U.S. can behave in a region that’s had enough of Yankee military bravado. And conservatives must be careful with their foreign policy prescriptions—it’s unclear what metric is used to support the revolutionaries of Libya while simultaneously propping up the brutal governments of Bahrain and Yemen.

Obama has made it clear his trip to Latin America, the president’s first south of Mexico in his presidency, will focus on strengthening economic ties with a fast growing region that can lead to export deals that benefit U.S. Gross Domestic Product and domestic manufacturing.

Far from being a manufacturing dinosaur, the U.S. is still the largest manufacturing country in the world. In real terms, our manufacturing output was $2.2 trillion compared to China’s $1.5 trillion. America’s global share of manufacturing has remained steady—22 percent in 1980 versus 20 percent in 2009. Where we differ from China is what we manufacture. China produces products that are low on the value chain—assembly line goods that require a nominally educated workforce. The U.S., however, builds high-tech, innovation-inspired products like planes, expensive machinery, and weapons. As Brazil’s thirst for more hi-tech gear expands, it’s reliance on high-end U.S. imports increases.

America’s regional proximity and internationally regarded manufacturing skills among its workers can effectuate a renewed prominence in Latin America, particularly Brazil. Securing long-term diplomatic and economic ties with a country that has the seventh largest GDP in the world is a necessary long-term investment. Obama also stated that every $1 billion the U.S. exports to Latin America supports 5,000 job domestically.

President Obama is right to proceed with his trip to Latin America. It is a proactive move meant to stave off this country’s declining influence in a region it has taken advantage of for too long.

Mikhail Zinshteyn is a staff writer for Campus Progress. You can e-mail him at mzinshteyn@googlemail.com.

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