As U.S. negotiators try to hammer out a trade deal with the European Union during talks in New York this week, the stakes are particularly high for trade-dependent Washington state.
Despite the tough political environment facing trade, negotiators in New York are working to strike a deal on the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. They’ll conclude their 15th round of talks on Friday.
In 2015, Washington state sent more than $9 billion in exports to European countries, accounting for nearly 11 percent of its total exports.
And the state is a big beneficiary of European foreign investment, with French, German, Dutch, Swedish and British firms employing 43,762 Washington residents last year.
Eric Schinfeld, president of the Seattle-based Washington Council on International Trade, said a new trade pact with the EU could mean another 17,000 jobs for Washington state, if the pact streamlined rules and regulations and made it easier to move goods overseas.
The EU is one of Washington state’s top trading partners and is our largest source of foreign direct investment, so we need to do more to break down barriers to growing this trade relationship even further.
Eric Schinfeld, president of the Washington Council on International Trade
“The EU is one of Washington state’s top trading partners and is our largest source of foreign direct investment, so we need to do more to break down barriers to growing this trade relationship even further," he said.
Anti-trade talk has dominated the 2016 presidential campaign, with Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump both opposed to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a proposed 12-nation trade pact that President Barack Obama wants finalized before leaving office.
But despite the tough political environment facing trade, administration officials are also pushing to wrap up the smaller EU deal, called the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.
With time running short for Obama and a growing public backlash against trade in the EU, the deal faces an uphill fight both in the U.S and overseas.
Last month, thousands of protesters rallied against the proposed deal in Germany. And Britain’s vote to leave the EU is another complicating factor.
Negotiators in New York are expected to conclude their 15th round of talks on Friday.
Rob Hotakainen: 202-383-6154, @HotakainenRob
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