Happy 100th World Trade Week!
Happy World Trade Week! Never heard of it? You’re not alone. I’ve only peripherally heard of it, and I write a blog about international shipping. I don’t think we’ve ever posted about World Trade Week in Universal Cargo’s blog, but this year’s observance is special. That’s because it’s the centennial celebration of the “holiday.” Whoah! 100 years of World Trade Week!
Perhaps some of you who do know about World Trade Week are saying, “Wait. Wasn’t that last week?” Meanwhile, others are saying, “No, it was two weeks ago!”
Let’s clear up the confusion, as World Trade Week doesn’t have a strictly synchronized timeline across all local, state, and federal organizations.
World Trade Week is a national observance that was established in Southern California in 1926, occurring each May to promote the positive impacts of international trade on local and national economies. And did I mention promoting the ports? Perhaps it was even moreso for them. Stanley T. Olafson and the L.A. Area Chamber of Commerce created it to promote the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, but just under a decade later, World Trade Week expanded.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt elevated World Trade Week to a national observance, meant to champion open markets and reduce international trade barriers, in 1935.
For parts of the country, World Trade Week is celebrated early in May, this year on the week of the 4th through 8th. Michigan held its 40th annual Michigan World Trade Week International Business Conference on Wednesday, May 6th. Likewise, over in New York, World Trade Week NYC programs had a prominent kickoff event at Baruch College on the 6th.
Historically, the president of the United States issues a proclamation, officially designating the third full week of May as World Trade Week.
President Trump did so last week, on the 19th, with the following statement from the White House:
America has built the world’s most powerful economy through the strength of our industries, the genius of our innovators, and the promise of fair and reciprocal trade. During World Trade Week, we renew our commitment to expanding American prosperity through strong trade policies that once again put our workers, our businesses, and our Nation first.
For more than a century, America has dominated the global stage as the world’s leading economic superpower through our innovative spirit and advanced manufacturing, sustained by the grit and determination of the most productive workforce in history. But as American workers and industries flourished, foreign competitors began to flood our markets with cheap imports while shutting out our producers at home. For decades, gutless politicians handed away our prosperity in the name of free trade—undercutting our workers, hollowing out our factories, and weakening the industries that made our Nation great. Weak leaders accepted the flight of American production overseas as the price of doing business with the world while freer markets never became fairer ones.
Under my leadership, the days of economic surrender are over. No longer will American innovation be exploited by foreign nations who undermine our workers, steal our jobs, and weaken our supply chains. That is why I have reestablished a trade policy that liberates America from unfair trade practices and reclaims our Nation’s wealth. Through the use of strategic tariffs, my Administration has secured trillions of dollars in manufacturing investments, significantly decreased our trade deficit, and accelerated the return of production to our shores.
In addition to these monumental victories, we have secured over 20 new trade deals with major world partners, opening new markets for American goods and strengthening our Nation’s position at the center of the global economy. These deals mean more supply; a growing world demand for American products; and, ultimately, lower prices on the everyday goods Americans depend on—from groceries and building supplies to medicine and machinery. American factories are reopening, American workers are returning to good-paying jobs, industries that were stripped from our communities are coming home, costs of living are dropping, and our Nation’s prosperity is flourishing.
Together, we are proving to the world that the strength of America’s trade economy is back—and we are once again safeguarding our success, reasserting our economic independence, and putting the interests of the American people first. America will continue to lead this new era of fair competition, innovation, and prosperity for our Republic for centuries to come.
But as Universal Cargo is headquartered in Los Angeles and the observance began here, we bring it all together with the actual centennial celebration. Perhaps because it’s the historic birthplace of the observance, Southern California saves its World Trade Week programming for the end of the month as if all the other celebrations culminate in this one.
For its landmark 100th Anniversary of World Trade Week, the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce held its central kickoff conference yesterday, Wednesday, May 27, and World Trade Week rages on! Hmm… looking out the window, I don’t see a parade like Los Angeles will probably have next month for Pride Month. Maybe this place doesn’t have the same priorities as people in international trade after all. Maybe a parade of people in suits and business casual attire on top of shipping container floats isn’t flashy and risqué enough for L.A.
Still, it’s something all you shippers out there could celebrate with the whole. I’m sure the kids will love it.
As an importer or exporter, there’s no better way to celebrate World Trade Week than by shipping goods. As a trusted freight forwarder since 1985, Universal Cargo is always here to help you through that process.
