International trade creates jobs and drives economic growth. Trade supports millions of American jobs that offer higher than average wages. The vast majority of U.S. exporters are not large corporations but small to medium sized enterprises—an often untold story of American entrepreneurship. Those that doubt the power of global free markets need only observe America’s trading partners who are accelerating their pace into the international space underscoring that if the United States does not actively participate in the global marketplace we risk being left behind.

The states are the clear economic winners and stakeholders in international trade. From Alaska’s marine products to Iowa’s grains and oilseeds to Florida’s aerospace products and parts, the states are in the business of exports! And while the link between exports and job creation is obvious, imports also benefit consumers by making the products Americans buy every day more affordable.

One of the surest ways to expand U.S. market access is through the negotiation of free trade agreements (FTAs) as FTA partners buy more American goods per capita than non-FTA partners. The two most prominent agreements that have yet to be finalized – the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) – will help U.S. companies gain greater access to more than 1 billion customers.

Free markets are a job creation engine that spurs economic growth, but there is also a strategic aspect to U.S. trade policy. One of the great examples of American exceptionalism was our creation of the structures that govern international trade following World War II. To this day, these structures help to promote free markets and protect innovation and nations around the globe welcome U.S.  economic partnership. Unilaterally forfeiting America’s role in the global trade sphere would exact unacceptable economic and strategic costs. There is no guarantee that the nation or nations that fill the leadership vacuum we leave will promote free markets as strongly as the U.S.