Once Again, It’s October 12 (Seems To Happen Around This Time Every Year)
Last year, I made a bold prediction: that “October 12, 2011” would always be known as “October 12, 2011”. Why is that date significant? Because it’s the day that Congress passed the South Korea-US (KORUS) free trade agreement (FTA). KORUS FTA was the first major trade policy issue that WCIT …
Read MoreTo Serv(ice export to) Man
It’s a cookbook! OK, well, maybe Washington state doesn’t export that many cookbooks to the rest of the world, but you know what we do export a lot of? Services! That’s one of the most exciting findings of the new International Competitiveness Strategy for Washington state. The Strategy may be most famous …
Read MoreSummary of Media Coverage of the International Competitiveness Strategy Release
On Monday, October 2, the Washington Council on International Trade – in collaboration with the Trade Development Alliance – released the International Competitiveness Strategy for Washington State. It was covered by media across Washington: Forty percent of jobs in Washington state are tied to trade – KPLU Trade with China …
Read MoreLife Gets Better at Forty (Percent)
As you probably heard, the Washington Council on International Trade and the Trade Development Alliance of Greater Seattle released the International Competitiveness Strategy for Washington State on Tuesday. I’m tempted to say that we “gave birth” to the International Competitiveness Strategy, because it was an intense amount of labor and it …
Read MoreWhat I Learned From FMC Commissioner Cordero
Tonight, I had the pleasure of heading after work to the offices of Foster Pepper PLLC for their 2nd Annual Washington Transportation Industry Reception. Not that I wouldn’t have gone anyway (I do love to schmooze with transportation industry stakeholders, as you know), but this one was of particular interest. …
Read MoreWe Were Right About Harbor Maintenance Tax Diversion!
Is there any better feeling in the world than being right about something? My wife will no longer tell me “you were right” because I immediately start gloating: shouting “whoo-hoo” and doing some sort of weird victory dance that’s a mix of the Twist and someone falling down the stairs. …
Read MoreWhat Will Ambassador Marantis Say on Thursday?
This Thursday is the WCIT Summer Luncheon, featuring Deputy United States Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis. This is a pretty big deal for Washington’s international business community: the chance to hear directly from the person in the Obama Administration responsible for U.S.-Asia trade policy. Since a large majority of our state’s …
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