Since State of Trade’s launch just three months ago, we’ve been prioritizing one topic more than any other: the pending free trade agreements with South Korea, Panama and Colombia. So, when the White House transmitted these agreements to Congress yesterday for their final consideration, you know that was a big deal.
And, like the good Boy Scouts we never actually were, WCIT was prepared with a fast response.
First, we mailed a letter to the members of the Washington Congressional delegation signed by two dozen of our state’s businesses and organizations. This letter demonstrates the broad support that the pending free trade agreements have in our state, and please find a copy attached.
Second, this past Saturday, an op-ed ran in the Spokane Spokesman-Review co-authored by the Washington Council on International Trade and the Washington State Farm Bureau. In particular, it highlights the significant impact of the FTAs on our state’s agricultural industry. (This is a follow up to our July op-ed in the Seattle Times.)
Finally, also this past Saturday, WCIT was quoted several times in an article in the Tri-City Herald on the impact of the South Korea FTA. (The piece also ran in other McClatchy newspapers, like the Miami Herald).
These free trade agreements will help create the jobs that Washington’s economy desperately needs. As the proposals move toward final consideration, the Washington Council on International Trade will continue to work to spread these messages to key stakeholders in our state and in DC. We encourage you to join us in passing along your support to the Washington Congressional delegation, to your peers and colleagues and other community members.
As the trending Twitter hashtag so eloquently puts it, “#PasstheFTAs”!
