i3 - September/October 2016 - 34

Policy

pursue global sales more vigorously because
they believe exporting is too burdensome.
Some of the key issues facing these companies include questions on import tariffs,
taxes and customs procedures; commercial
standards, regulations, and practices; and
intellectual property rights.
The Department of Commerce can
assist U.S. companies facing these trade
barriers. Our Office of Trade Agreements
Negotiation and Compliance (TANC)
helps make trade agreements work for
American exporters and investors. TANC
focuses on the areas where foreign trade
barriers most often affect U.S. industry,
including: technical barriers to trade, such
as unfair testing, labeling or certification
requirements; government procurement
questions; and discriminatory investment
requirements.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)
is the first U.S. free trade agreement to
include a separate chapter focusing on
issues specific to SMEs. TPP will ensure
that SMEs have access to tailored information that will enable them to participate
fully in and benefit from the agreement. In
addition to helping SMEs better understand it, the agreement itself eliminates
many barriers to help facilitate SME
exports to the TPP region, including new
market access through tariff elimination
and reductions.
There is no "one-size-fits-all" when it
comes to export assistance; companies
have unique needs, so our assistance is
tailored to each business client. Our trade
professionals from the U.S. and Foreign
Commercial Service help U.S. companies
develop export strategies and provide
information on a range of issues to help
U.S. firms navigate the export process.

What is Commerce's role in negotiating trade agreements, and
how can they help importing and
exporting U.S. companies?
The Commerce Department works
closely with the Office of the U.S. Trade
Representative and other U.S. government partner agencies to negotiate
these important agreements. Our experts
supply pertinent data, industry expertise
and other information to ensure the
34

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016

BENEFICIAL
RESOURCES
successful completion of agreements.
The U.S. has trade agreements in place
with 20 countries. New U.S. trade agreements mean more export opportunities
for American companies - U.S. goods
exports to FTA partners supported 3.2
million U.S. jobs in 2014.
In 2015, 47 percent of U.S. goods
exports went to our FTA partners, even
though those countries only accounted
for 10 percent of global gross domestic
product (in U.S. dollars). Goods exports
to our FTA partners increased 52 percent
from 2009 to 2015, contrasting with
34 percent export growth to the rest of
the world over the same period.
In 2015, U.S. goods exports to our 20
FTA partners totaled $710 billion, leading
to a trade surplus in manufactured goods
with our FTA partners of $12 billion.

What is the Trans-Pacific
Partnership (TPP)?
The Trans-Pacific Partnership is a
transformational agreement that creates
new market opportunities for American
companies in some of the fastest-growing
markets in the world, while making
American workers more competitive.
There is an obvious economic opportunity that is created by engaging in global
trade, and a significant opportunity cost
should we miss out. More than 95 percent
of the world's consumers live outside the
U.S., and by 2030, there will be 3.2 billion
middle class consumers in Asia, more than
eight times the expected size of the U.S.
market. In order for our companies and
our workers to succeed in an increasingly
competitive economy, they must have
fair access to some of the fastest-growing
markets on the planet.
Enacting new trade agreements is also
in our strategic interest. Now is the time
to secure our influence in markets around
the world and ensure our businesses can
compete. These agreements allow us to
shape the rules of the global economy to
fit our economic strengths and our values
and to reinforce our commitment to key
allies in Asia and in Europe at a time when
America's influence and leadership has
never been more important.
The anxiety over opening America's

1

The Department of
Commerce's Open for
Business Agenda highlights
Trade, Innovation and Data as
attributes of a globally
competitive economy and
promotes economic growth
and job creation.

2

The U.S. Commercial
Service is the trade
promotion arm of the U.S.
Department of Commerce's
International Trade Administration. U.S. Commercial Service
trade professionals in more
than 100 U.S. cities and in
more than 75 countries help
U.S. companies get started in
exporting to increase sales to
new global markets and U.S.
Export Assistance Centers.

3

Commerce Data
Service (CDS) helps the 12
Bureaus of the U.S. Department
of Commerce to rapidly create
and develop projects to advance
the Department's mission.

4

The Startup Global
Initiative aims to be a nexus
between entrepreneurial innovation and government resources.

5

The Office of Trade
Agreements Negotiations and Compliance (TANC)
helps make trade agreements
work for American exporters
and investors.

6

The Trans-Pacific
Partnership will reduce
the cost of exporting, increase
competitiveness of U.S. firms
and promote fairness.

7

The United States
International Trade
Commission released a report
regarding the likely impact of
the TPP Agreement.

8

A report by the Peterson
Institute for International Economics on the economic
effects of the TPP shows that,
if TPP is delayed by just one
year, the U.S. will see an
estimated one-time national
loss of $94 billion.
Link to these resources at cta.tech/i3
I T I S I N N O VAT I O N
http://cta.tech/i3
i3 - September/October 2016

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