State of Trade’s Top Ten for 2011
As 2011 slowly makes its way to conclusion, it’s always a great time to look back and reflect on highs and lows for the year that was. And here at the State of Trade blog, we especially like to look back on the highs because, hey, there were so many …
Read MoreWCIT Releases Letter Urging Congress to Reauthorize Ex-Im Bank
On Friday, WCIT sent a letter – signed by 17 businesses and business organizations from across the state – urging the Washington state Congressional delegation to lead Congress in reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank of the United States. Ex-Im Bank, a federal agency that assists in financing the export of U.S. …
Read MoreTPP: Y’all Come?
“TPP is not something that one gets invited to. It’s something that one aspires to.” That was the quote from Michael Froman, President Obama’s deputy national security adviser for international economic affairs, in reaction to China’s assertion that it would want to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations but had not …
Read MoreIP Should Not Be Used Freely
One of the major issues that the Washington Council on International Trade cares about is IPR – intellectual property rights. Whether in stand alone federal legislation on software piracy or codified into trade policy like the Information Technology Agreement (ITA), the issue of protecting intellectual property in international trade is …
Read More2011 Trade Conference a Success!
I tried to think of a clever title for this blog post celebrating Monday’s fantastic and SOLD OUT Washington Trade Conference, but I’m so out of practice. My last few posts have all been Trade Conference advertisements like the uncleverly -but accurately – titled “JUST ANNOUNCED: Canadian Trade Minister to …
Read MoreToday Will Forever Be Known As October 12, 2011!
And not only because that’s actually the date. Today is the date that – after years of delay and sometimes hopelessness – the free trade agreements with South Korea, Panama & Colombia passed the United States Congress! We’ll be referencing this day for years to come, because the passage of …
Read MoreCome and Visit! (Bring Money.)
In my last post on WCIT’s policy priorities – cleverly titled, as always – I mentioned that today’s post would be focused on visa reform. No, not credit cards…I’m talking about entry visas into the United States from places like China, India and Brazil. This is a huge issue for …
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