Industry Praises ITC Report on Projected Impact of TPP Trade Pact

Industry applauded an International Trade Commission report on the projected impact of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement. Wednesday's ITC report said the TPP would decrease the costs of moving goods within the agreement’s covered region, and bring modest gains to the U.S. economy over its first 15 years, but the deal also would exacerbate the U.S. trade deficit. Assuming TPP takes effect by the end of 2017, the report predicted real U.S. gross domestic product would rise by $42.7 billion (0.15 percent) over baseline projections, while overall exports would increase by $27.2 billion (1 percent) and $48.9 billion (1.1 percent), respectively, by 2032, according to a summary. "The ITC report is an important step forward in assessing the benefits of the TPP,” said CTA CEO Gary Shapiro. “In our increasingly connected world, international trade will become ever more important to the prosperity and success of American workers and businesses.” While CTA still wants to review the full ITC report, “it is already our assessment that the Administration should move the TPP forward and Congress should approve it this year,” he said. Telecommunications Industry Association CEO Scott Belcher said the report “underscores the importance of the trade agreement for strengthening the U.S. technology industry’s ability to generate high-paying jobs and for promoting borderless digital trade opportunities.” MPAA Chairman Chris Dodd said the report "reaffirms that the TPP will grow the workforce and economic activity of America’s creative sectors, and benefit the U.S. economy as a whole.” But trade unions and several Democrats in Congress said the TPP could kill jobs in several industries.