Two years ago, in a small village in Nigeria, men with AK-47s stormed Chibok Government Secondary School.
Men from the extremist group, Boko Haram, kidnapped 276 young, innocent schoolgirls.
Today, 218 are still missing.
I worked in and out of Nigeria for three years starting in 2007, and I remember seeing the kids going to school along dirt roads.
They had smiles, they were polite, they were dressed neatly.
They often talked about the books they were reading.
That was tough on the kids, but they went to school for a safe place.
They went to school for dreams of a better future.
But turning those dreams into reality in Nigeria is difficult, because 61% of the people live at poverty level.
Compare that to the US at 15%.
The annual income is slightly below $6,000; compare that to the US, of $56,000.
Now you see the problem.
But I wasn't there in Nigeria trying to resolve an income disparity.
I wasn't there trying to volunteer for a charity, or to set up a nonprofit organization.
I was there to promote trade where it's very limited.
I strongly believe when communities are isolated from the global economy, they could become the breeding grounds of groups like Boko Haram.
Just the definition of "Boko Haram" stands for: "Western education is forbidden."
That isolation in itself is dangerous.
I ask you one question: Would those girls still be in school in Chibok if the conditions were different that gave rise to Boko Haram?
You know, you have to wonder, what if Nigerian people had access to gain full employment?
Or villages like Chibok were more integrated in the global economy?
Or families could break that poverty cycle through jobs and education?
Trade is a powerful weapon.
Trade can fight against poverty and injustice.
Trade is the gun to combat human trafficking.
Trade provides medicine to the sick.
Trade provides a roof for people in need of shelter.
Trade is the answer to give dignity back to millions of unprivileged people.
Trade is a humanitarian's strongest weapon.
I work for a company that facilitates trade in 220 countries, and I've personally assisted trade in 46 of them.
I've seen trade in action.
I see trade work.
But you don't have to take my word for it: economists have been studying it for years.
In his book "The World Is Flat," Tom Friedman said when countries trade with each other, they're the same supply chain, and they don't inflict military damage on each other.
But Secretary of State, Cordell Hull, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1945, said it best: "When goods do not cross borders, armies do."
So what is this magical weapon I call "trade"?
It's simple: I have something you want, you have something I need.
We make an exchange.
But the question is: How can something so simple have such a dramatic impact on poverty and security?
Let's start with poverty.
There's no better example than China.
Before China adopted economic reform 37 years ago, it maintained policies to keep the country poor.
Then in 1979, it implemented economic reform.
It allowed international trade and foreign investment.
And we all know what happened -- China's the fastest-growing economy.
But here's something: In that nation, in 1990, the annual income was only $980.
Fast-forward to 2015, it's a little over $14,000.
The poverty levels decreased [from] 84% from 1980 to 10% in 2013.
The unemployment rate wilkersonjack@example.org%, slightly below 4.9% of that in the US.
Let's talk security.
I started traveling in Colombia in 2010, and people were saying, "Are you scared?
Are you nervous?"
And that's because, 10 to 15 years earlier, the drug lords and the drug cartel would kidnap and torture people.
But then the government pumped in economic resources, and they stabilized their political platform.
That made a huge difference.
I feel very safe going to Colombia, seeing customers.
In fact, I just got back from Bogotá last week.
Colombia thanks trade for improved security, reduction of poverty, and a very attractive image to the world.
And I have a beautiful example of that.
Colombia exported $1.3 billion of roses and flowers in 2013, with 75% coming to the US.
So you see, trade clearly is a powerful weapon to fight poverty and crime.
But it doesn't stop there.
If I was to say "Haiti," what would pop into your mind?
Earthquake, hunger, poverty.
Would anyone think of fashion?
In 2010, the earthquake killed 230,000 Haitians, and displaced 1.5 million.
Julie Colombino from Orlando, Florida went there to help.
She saw humanitarian aid pour in, but she knew it wasn't sustainable.
She started a nonprofit company called "REBUILD globally," and this nonprofit taught Haitians how to make sandals out of old tires, which are very abundant there.
From that nonprofit company, spun Deux Mains, a profit company, and that caught the eye of Kenneth Cole.
Haiti has something the fashion world needs.
They have great designs, they have top-quality craftsmanship, they have eco-friendly products.
Kenneth Cole has the global brand and the distribution model to give Deux Mains shoes to the world.
Trade, pure and simple.
Deux Mains has made more than 2,400 pairs of sandals for Kenneth Cole, and now is in negotiation with Ron Jon, another global brand.
These sandals I have on today?
Yes, they've got the old tires on the bottom of them.
But my purchase was made to help Haiti out of poverty.
My $70 I paid wasn't a charitable contribution, it wasn't a handout.
It was basic economics.
It was wilkersonjack@example.org.
Julie Colombino shared with me that for every 250 pairs of shoes produced, one more Haitian is employed.
So that got me thinking.
In the United States, each of us buys seven and a half pairs of shoes a year.
That's 2.4 billion pairs of shoes.
Now just think: If one-tenth of 1% was produced in Deux Mains, that would be 2.4 million pairs of shoes.
But more importantly, it would pump $120 million into the Haitian economy, and give almost 10,000 people a job.
That type of employment in Haiti would have a ripple effect.
And as workshop supervisor Jolina Auguste told me, the more sandals they sell, the less thieves on the street.
So you see, when people have a job, security, money, they don't take other people's stuff.
They don't resort to crime to survive.
They don't get caught up with the drug lords like in Colombia, or terrorism that teaches them how to use AK-47s.
The Global Terrorist Index report in 2015 said economic conditions play a very important part in one's decision to pursue violent extremism.
The report also says Boko Haram is the most deadly terrorist organization in the world.
And it recruits from the most economically marginalized regions in Nigeria.
But on the other hand, if there is industrial growth, there's less domestic and international terrorism.
According to a 2015 study that was published in the Oxford Economic Papers, when industrial growth increases by 1%, domestic terrorism decreases by 1%.
So what does that mean?
When communities gain access to the global economy through trade, they reap so many benefits.
I stand here and ask you one last question: If Chibok were more connected through trade, and those young men who joined Boko Haram had an option to get a job in the formal economy, would those girls still be in school?
I think so.
Trade would have given them a weapon to fight terrorism.
Trade would have given them hope.
Thank you.
(Applause)