December 4, 2007
McGovern, Execs Talk Trade, Immigration
By Matthew L. Brown
Businesses must have a stronger voice in the immigration debate in order to make sure it doesn't devolve entirely into political slogan-slinging, said U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Worcester, this morning at a discussion regarding international trade.
The discussion was held at EMC Corp.'s headquarters in Hopkinton and was put on by the Coalition of New England Companies for Trade and the Massachusetts Export Center .
After comments from McGovern, attendees, including Robert Worth, president of Worth Imports of Framingham, asked questions and voiced their concerns. Worth told McGovern, "When I'm looking for unskilled workers, I find it hard to find American-born workers, and when I do, they're bad, scary people."
McGovern said he favors helping illegal immigrants become U.S. citizens. "The business community needs to continue to play a role to inject a little common sense into that debate," he said.
McGovern and about 25 executives present covered topics from helping small- and medium-sized businesses cope with establishing themselves in China to normalizing trade relations with Cuba and pressuring China to stop supporting the Sudanese military, which supports the militias accused of carrying out a genocide in Darfur.
McGovern said there was "value" in Gov. Deval L. Patrick's visit to China because it could help smaller Massachusetts businesses establish the relationships necessary to do business there. Patrick and several business executives, government officials and academics are currently on a week-long trade mission to China.
"For big, mega-companies, getting in the door is never a problem," McGovern said. "For small- and medium-sized companies, getting in the door is a problem."
Vernon Graff of FedEx Trade Networks in Chelsea asked if McGovern thought efforts to scan all containers arriving at U.S. ports were realistic.
McGovern said he supported the idea as a way to strengthen port security, but said "the technology is not feasible," yet. "There's a potential vulnerability," McGovern said. "We've been told, 'you need to scan it all,' but would it slow down commerce? Is it cost prohibitive? The intention is good, but how do you work out all these other issues?"
The discussion was held at EMC Corp.'s headquarters in Hopkinton and was put on by the Coalition of New England Companies for Trade and the Massachusetts Export Center .
After comments from McGovern, attendees, including Robert Worth, president of Worth Imports of Framingham, asked questions and voiced their concerns. Worth told McGovern, "When I'm looking for unskilled workers, I find it hard to find American-born workers, and when I do, they're bad, scary people."
McGovern said he favors helping illegal immigrants become U.S. citizens. "The business community needs to continue to play a role to inject a little common sense into that debate," he said.
McGovern and about 25 executives present covered topics from helping small- and medium-sized businesses cope with establishing themselves in China to normalizing trade relations with Cuba and pressuring China to stop supporting the Sudanese military, which supports the militias accused of carrying out a genocide in Darfur.
McGovern said there was "value" in Gov. Deval L. Patrick's visit to China because it could help smaller Massachusetts businesses establish the relationships necessary to do business there. Patrick and several business executives, government officials and academics are currently on a week-long trade mission to China.
"For big, mega-companies, getting in the door is never a problem," McGovern said. "For small- and medium-sized companies, getting in the door is a problem."
Vernon Graff of FedEx Trade Networks in Chelsea asked if McGovern thought efforts to scan all containers arriving at U.S. ports were realistic.
McGovern said he supported the idea as a way to strengthen port security, but said "the technology is not feasible," yet. "There's a potential vulnerability," McGovern said. "We've been told, 'you need to scan it all,' but would it slow down commerce? Is it cost prohibitive? The intention is good, but how do you work out all these other issues?"
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