Dear Mr. President: We Know a Great Place to Start…

On Jan. 27, President Obama delivered his first State of the Union address. While touching on numerous initiatives from foreign relations to the waning healthcare legislation, the crux of the president’s message was simple—the nation needs jobs and an economic jolt. To spur economic growth, Obama said, "[W]e need to export more of our goods. Because the more products we make and sell to other countries, the more jobs we support right here in America."

The aviation maintenance industry certainly agrees that a greater emphasis on selling goods and services abroad benefits businesses in the U.S. Unfortunately, pending legislation on Capitol Hill could undermine one of our country’s greatest exports.

As part of ARSA’s Positive Publicity Campaign (PPC), the Association retained the services of AeroStrategy to conduct a comprehensive study to demonstrate the economic impact of the aviation maintenance industry, nationally and internationally. The study confirmed that the United States has a $2.4 billion positive balance of trade in the aviation maintenance marketplace. The strongest international customer for U.S.-based companies is Europe, with a full 25 percent of the region’s engine overhaul demand and 15 percent of its component repair needs coming to the United States.

Accessing the European market is vital to building upon the industry’s significant positive balance of trade for aviation maintenance services. However, legislation on Capitol Hill could be put a damper on the president’s “National Export Initiative” before it even commences.

One such proposal, approved by the House last May, is the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill (H.R. 915). H.R. 915 contains language that would doom the U.S.-EU bilateral aviation safety agreement (BASA). The BASA is the vehicle that allows so many small to medium sized enterprises in the United States to compete in the European market by setting lower European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certification costs for U.S.-based businesses. If the BASA were to collapse, causing EASA certification costs to rise, accessing the European market would be difficult for U.S. companies and the positive balance of trade would begin a precipitous decline.

FAA reauthorization legislation awaits consideration by the full Senate. ARSA continues to educate lawmakers on the devastating effect the provision in the House bill will have on our industry and the overall economy. If generating exports and protecting the access of American companies to foreign markets are truly the backbone of the economic recovery, we know a great place to start—by throwing out trade prohibitive measures in FAA reauthorization.

The new emphasis on job creation and access to international markets provides the maintenance industry an excellent opportunity to make our case before Congress and the administration. Supporting ARSA’s lobbying efforts and the PPC ensures that these opportunities don’t pass.

Tell your representatives to remove trade prohibitive language in FAA reauthorization here.