Gov. Chris Gregoire joined with U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner for a "rainy day" tour of the Port of Tacoma and a press conference where the two discussed ways to expand trade opportunities. During his visit to the Pacific Northwest he also toured the Boeing 737 manufacturing plant in Renton and met with community bankers regarding access to capital. In 2009, the Port of Tacoma handled about 1.5 million containers of cargo, contributing to more than $28.8 billion in trade. Last year, the Port of Tacoma handled more than $6 billion in international exports, with China/Hong Kong as the Port's top trading partner by value of two-way trade. Activity at the port connects to 43,000 jobs -- about one in six -- in Pierce County and 113,000 jobs in Washington
"We are the most trade dependent state in the nation, and on a per-capita basis, the number one exporter in the United States. While our state is already familiar with global trade, we have the potential, and the need, to expand. Increasing our exports means new jobs for Washingtonians -- from design work, to manufacturing to shipping," said Governor Gregoire. Secretary Geithner observed that the US economy is improving. "The American economy is getting stronger. We are coming out of the worst economic crisis in generations. The economy is creating jobs. In the first four months of this year, the American economy put more than half a million Americans back to work. That's a more rapid pace than many predicted. And – this is very important – this expansion in jobs is being driven by the private sector, by private investment and by exports, in manufacturing and high tech. Investment in technology is up by more than 14 percent in the past year. And business spending overall on capital goods – which adds in everything from trucks to machine tools – is up by about 7 percent in the past year. This is the start of a Main Street recovery. It is happening across the country."
NOTE: Washington's unemployment rate in April improved to 9.2 percent in April, the first time the state has seen a decline in three years. The state's economy added 5,800 jobs in April, according to the Washington State Employment Security Department.
Geithner is working with a cabinet level team led by US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke to double US exports over the next five years. According to the Commerce Department's latest analysis, 6,200 jobs are created or sustained in the U.S. for every $1 billion in exports. Geithner is traveling to China later this week with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for the US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue. Regarding the US-China economic relationship he praised China for shifting its development strategy to rely more on domestic consumption, which he credited for helping to boost U.S. exports to China by nearly 50% during the first quarter of the year. However, he raised a concern also brought out by Commerce Secretary Locke about US access to China's market. He stated:
"The economic part of our agenda in Beijing will focus on reducing the challenges faced by American companies trying to export to China and to produce in China. China, like all countries, is working to encourage more innovation by Chinese companies. And as part of a program they call "indigenous innovation," China recently proposed a program where the government would compile a list of what qualifies as innovative products, and provide advantages to the companies that make them. Those benefits would include preferential treatment in government purchases. Products exported to China from the United States might not be eligible for those benefits. And even products produced by American firms that operate within China may not make the cut. American companies are very concerned that this approach has the potential to discriminate against foreign-made products and could disadvantage American exporters and investors as they compete with Chinese firms. We share those concerns. The Chinese government has taken some steps to address these concerns, but we have some more work to do in this area. Our challenge is to help make sure that China does more to protect intellectual property rights and reduces subsidies and other preferences to domestic companies. We want China to give American firms the same opportunities to compete in China that Chinese firms face in the United States. This is a simple principle of fairness."
Regarding China's currency policy, he said it was up to them to determine what is in their best interest. "I think it's, of course, China's decision about what to do with the exchange rate - they're a sovereign country," Geithner said. "But I think it's enormously in their interest to move, over time, to let the exchange rate reflect market forces, and I'm confident that they will do what's in their interest."
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Posted by: OMG | September 10, 2010 at 08:09 AM