Declaring that "free trade means good-paying jobs for Americans," President Bush used the nation's largest helicopter manufacturer as a backdrop Wednesday to pressure Congress to pass three trade agreements that are among the top priorities of his final year in office.
Singling out a proposed trade agreement with Colombia, Bush said its approval would mean jobs for Americans and support for an ally battling drug crime and political insurrection.
Bush made his comments at Robinson Helicopter Co. in Torrance, a firm thriving on the strength of its international business.
Frank Robinson, who started the company in 1973, said the firm was selling 70% of its products overseas.
But Robinson has not been shy about pointing out the benefits that his company has found in the cheap dollar -- a reality Bush ignored as he and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger toured the spotless plant.
The stop was the first on a three-day tour devoted to promoting the agenda Bush outlined in his State of the Union address Monday.
He will also speak on his anti-terrorism efforts before a Nevada policy research group in Las Vegas, and on the economy at the headquarters of the Hallmark greeting card company in Kansas City, Mo.
He coupled his cross-country sales pitch with events to raise money for Republicans.
At a luncheon at the Bel-Air home of venture capitalist Elliott Broidy and at an early dinner in Hillsborough in the San Francisco Bay Area, Bush expected to raise more than $3.2 million for the Republican National Committee, a party official said.
Bush also plans fundraising stops today and Friday in Nevada, Colorado and Missouri.
Bush, promoting trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea, could hardly have found a better example of the effects trade can have on a company than Robinson Helicopter. The president's backdrop was a collection of orange, red, yellow, gold and blue two- and four-seat helicopters, each a shiny symbol of the company's sales growth.
Robinson produces more helicopters than better-known manufacturers Sikorsky and Bell combined, and has service centers in 50 countries, including China and Russia.
Nor could Bush have found a better advertisement for the beneficial effects of the low-value dollar.
When prices are set in dollars, stronger foreign currencies reach further -- and can buy more American goods. That is the flip side of Washington's oft-stated goal of a strong dollar, which makes it cheaper for American consumers to buy imported goods.
