March 7, 2016
ACTION ALERT: On May 18, the U.S. International Trade Commission released an economic report analyzing the likely impact of Trans-Pacific Partnership.We urge all members to take a moment to learn how the TPP will benefit their business and sign-on to the Chamber’s open letter of support.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership is a free trade agreement between twelve Pacific-Rim countries: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States, and Vietnam.
TPP maintains free trade between these countries by eliminating all tariffs and trade barriers, establishing protection for intellectual property, and introducing mechanisms to settle investor-state disputes, among other measures. (Read the full details on Medium.)
What This Means For San Diego
Although San Diego is the 17th largest economy in the United States, it ranks only 61st in terms of export intensity. With considerable growing industries such as the life sciences, cleantech, IT, and maritime, TPP presents an opportunity for San Diego to expand its foothold in the global marketplace and create more jobs in the region. (As of June of this year, 110,000 San Diego jobs were directly supported by international exports and foreign investment.)
Furthermore, with six of San Diego’s largest trading partners represented (Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, and Signapore ), TPP’s elimination of trade barriers gives San Diego direct access to 500 million consumers, representing a total GDP of almost $12 trillion.
We Need Your Help!
The Chamber strongly urges all members to sign on to our open letter of support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership. With your help, we can open new markets, create new jobs, and strengthen our regional economy.