Cranston Print Works Chairman Says U.S. Trade Policy Needs Reform

"U.S. Trade Policy Is a Disaster"

"All jobs are not created equal," said George Shuster, chairman, CEO, and president of Cranston Print Works, the oldest textile printing company in the United States, as he addressed Nichols business students on March 3rd. He was referring to the loss of millions of good manufacturing jobs because of a lop-sided U.S. trade policy which has devastated whole families and communities.

"The American people are being lied to," he continued. "Our U.S. trade policy is highly managed and discourages exports in favor of imports." Shuster pointed a finger at Political Action Committees (PACS), particularly those controlled by large retailers, whose "gifts" get political support. Shuster called Congressional free trade advocates, "free traitors," because they lead the nation to import maximization for their own selfish gain.

Ironically, before the Nixon administration officially opened trade with China, Cranston Print Works bought gray good (canvas) from China in the 1970's, which at that time, was ½ of all Chinese trade of products to the U.S.

But today and every day, three billion U.S. dollars are sent abroad. Shuster said that the playing field isn't even; compare the U.S. average import tariff of 1.3% to an average import tariff of 40% in other countries. Giving a sport's analogy, Shuster told students to imagine a Super Bowl game, where every time the Patriots run a play, they have to run on a 40% slope. Yet, every time the opponent has the ball, they face only a 1.3% slope. If the Patriots lost, Shuster said, would that mean that the Patriots were a less competitive team?

Accordingly, increased globalization is not benefiting the United States because it has caused a significant hollowing out of one industry after another. Of the 114 industry sectors in the U.S. from 1997-2005, 111 have significantly increased their import (v.s. export) ratio. "Today, 98% of shoes and 96% of apparel are made abroad," Shuster said. "Now take off your shoes and clothes, and you're standing naked."

"We buy t-shirts and they buy T-bills," Shuster said. "Over 1/2 of U.S. debt and 1/3 of S&P 500 corporate stock is now owned by foreigners."

When Nichols business students asked what they could do, Shuster argued the importance of negotiating equal reciprocal access and reinstituting non-tariff barriers to help balance the playing field. He told students to "spread the word" and keep abreast of developments on the American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition (http://www.amtacdc.org) website.

Mr. Shuster joined Cranston Print Works Company in 1978, has been on its Board since 1981, was elected president and CEO in 1991, and was elected to the additional duties of chairman in 2000. Prior to joining Cranston, he was a partner of the Providence, Rhode Island law firm of Edwards & Angell.

Shuster is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Yale University and has graduate degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Yale Law School. He was a Yale National and Yale National Merit Scholar, and was on the varsity crew and wrestling teams. At M.I.T. he was a National Science Foundation Fellow. He also served on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations while in the U.S. Navy, and clerked for Judge Robert P. Anderson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit following law school. Shuster was also an Eagle Scout.

Shuster is an officer of the following organizations: The UNITE-HERE Textile Workers' Pension Fund (chairman), Kent County Memorial Hospital (immediate past chairman), the Center for Design and Business (co-chair), the Manufacturer's Council of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce (chair), the National Textile Association (vice-chairman), the Yale Crew Association (secretary), and the American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition, or "AMTAC" (co-chair).

In addition, Shuster serves on the Trade Advisory Committee for the U.S. Department of Commerce, as well as on the Boards of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, the Machine Printers and Engravers Pension Fund, the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation, the Textile Distributors' Association, the American Textile History Museum, Care New England, Tollgate Indemnity and Kenney Manufacturing Company.

Previously, Shuster served on the Boards of the R.I. Audubon Society, the Slater Mill, the Providence Public Library, and more recently, the Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

As outside interests, Shuster has authored numerous articles on sperm whale populations, collected fossils and won many national championships in masters' rowing.

Shuster lives with his wife, Susan, in Harmony R.I.