Commerce releases 50 state-by-state TPP reports

The U.S. Commerce Department issued a series of 50 fact reports that promote the positive impact passage of the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement will have on the country’s economy.    The U.S. Commerce Department has released a series of 50 fact reports to promote the positive impacts that the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement should have on the country’s economy.
   The reports highlight by state the value of U.S. goods exports to TPP markets, the number of U.S. jobs supported by exports from each state, and the tariff reductions that stand to benefit each state’s top export sectors.
   After completing the long-awaited Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement on Oct. 5, the Obama administration now faces the challenge of promoting the trade pact to the Congress and voters. In addition to the United States, the other TPP members are Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam.
   Some the highlights from the Commerce Department’s TPP state-by-state reports include:
   *Virginia companies shipped about 35 percent of their exports to TPP countries in 2014.
   *Total goods exports from California to TPP countries last year reached $71.6 billion.
   *18,917 companies from Texas exported goods to TPP countries in 2013.
   *Florida shipped $314 million in chemical products to TPP countries in 2014.
   “TPP will level the playing field for American workers, farmers, and businesses across the Asia-Pacific region by eliminating over 18,000 taxes that other countries impose against U.S. exports – everything from Washington apples to Michigan cars to North Carolina textiles,” U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said in a statement. “By 2030, an estimated two-thirds of the world’s middle class consumers will call Asia home. They’ll want more of everything that Americans is great at making, from cars and cosmetics, to streaming movies, to fresh fruit and vegetables.”
   The Commerce Department’s full TPP fact sheet series may be viewed here.