Letter | Legislation on trade policy benefits South Carolina

Recently, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott voted for legislation that enables Congress to play its important constitutional role in formulating and directing U.S. trade policy. This legislation will benefit South Carolina workers and communities by opening markets for U.S. goods and services worldwide.

Thanks to efforts to promote free trade and open investment like TPA, Honda has invested nearly $338 million in South Carolina to date, and Honda of South Carolina Mfg., Inc., the sole global producer of Honda's all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and side-by-side vehicles (SxSs), employs 1,000 workers in the state.

In 2014, Honda exported $3.5 billion worth of U.S.-origin goods to nearly 100 countries and territories around the world. The ATVs and SxSs made by your families, friends, and neighbors in Timmonsville comprised over 50 percent of those exports in terms of value.

Trade enables Honda associates in the U.S. to contribute to their communities and the overall U.S. economy. By voting for TPA, Senator Scott voted to not only sustain those contributions, but also to open the door to new opportunities to reach the 95 percent of the world’s consumers that live outside the United States. I want to thank Senator Scott for his continued leadership on behalf of South Carolina.

The writer is president of Honda of South Carolina Mfg., Inc.

This story was originally published July 9, 2015 at 5:18 PM with the headline "Letter | Legislation on trade policy benefits South Carolina."