A Letter to Our Members:
As part of Greater Spokane Incorporated’s work to grow our economy and increase trade opportunities for our local business community, GSI has taken the position to support the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement (TPP).
The TPP stands to benefit local businesses by increasing market access and reducing barriers to entry, which will make businesses in our region more competitive with foreign competition. The TPP is estimated to increase annual real incomes in the U.S. by $131 billion and annual exports by $357 billion.
GSI is disappointed by Spokane City Council’s opposition to the agreement, and that there wasn’t a more open dialogue before the TPP resolution was introduced. Upon learning of the resolution, GSI was in communication with the City Council about its position and the positive impacts the TPP could have on our region’s economy.
GSI encourages open dialogue on issues that impact our community, and recently convened local business leaders to discuss the challenges and opportunities of TPP in our regional marketplace. We continually work to educate the business community about the benefits of free trade agreements and advocate for TPP at the federal level through our priority legislative agendas. On Friday we sent this letter to the Spokane City Council, stating our concerns and encouraging a more thorough evaluation of TPP.
We feel the Council has acted prematurely and had urged them to suspend their decision until they’d had adequate time to review the United States International Trade Commission’s report — due out in May — that assesses the likely impact of TPP on specific industry sectors, the U.S economy as a whole, and the interests of U.S. consumers.
GSI’s International Trade work centers on the belief that increased exports are a means for expanding local businesses and growing our economy. We support the TPP because we believe the agreement will make local businesses more competitive with foreign competition, and we believe local businesses will benefit greatly through increased market access and reduced barriers to entry.
We want to hear from you because we need to know how trade and TPP impact your business. In April we will lead a federal delegation to DC to advocate for, among other priority items, free trade and TPP. If you’re interested in joining the delegation, contact our public policy team.
