Bus tour touts free-trade benefits

A 45-foot-long bus covered with eye-grabbing shrink-wrap passed through the Lowcountry on Friday, not promoting a politician or pop musician, but rather an economic agenda.

The "America Wins With Trade" tour made a stop in Charleston on its seven-week, coast-to-coast promotion. The Consumer Electronics Association, a national trade group of consumer technology companies, launched the tour in hopes of educating people across the country about the benefits of free trade.

It kicked off Monday in New York City, the first of 65 scheduled stops, including the one at the S.C. State Ports Authority's Wando Welch Terminal in Mount Pleasant.

Standing outside the plush colorful bus, Dan Cole, the association's vice president of sales and business development, said the primary goal of the tour is to educate.

"A majority of Americans believe trade is a threat to our economy," he said.

Cole hopes the stops will help shore up support for U.S. trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea. He also wants companies to invest in training that will keep American workers competitive.

"We cannot let protectionist ideas hold us back for doing what a great nation does," Cole said.

More than 700 companies, representing every county in South Carolina, trade through the SPA's terminals, according to Bernard Groseclose Jr., the maritime agency's president and chief executive officer. He said more than 400,000 workers in South Carolina have trade-related jobs.

Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce Chairman Bobby Collins pointed at the shipping containers surrounding the bus and said, "That's what's important in our community. They're filled with what Americans buy, but more importantly, they're filled with what Americans sell."

Arthur Kelly, a truck driver from Montgomery, Ala., will pilot the bus for the next six weeks. Packing up after Friday's Charleston stop, he said: "I got a lot of people honking at me, so I guess they like it. I haven't gotten any thumbs down yet."