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> DOWNLOAD Our Letter to Congressman Ted Yoho
Florida’s current business agenda puts jobs, growth and economic opportunity in the driver’s seat. Florida has been able to grow our economy exponentially due to a smart and business-friendly environment. The Florida Chamber of Commerce supports the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) American trade policy as it will have a significant impact on the strength of our economy and the lives of Floridians.
The TPP agreement will provide Florida with the opportunity to increase goods and services trade with emerging markets across the globe. It will accomplish this by removing several challenges that our businesses face when they attempt to bring their goods to international markets. This monumental trade deal will create a level playing field between U.S. companies of all sizes with some of our strongest trading partners.
Florida already has good trade ties with several of the TPP countries. Florida exported $1.6 billion in goods and $3.3 billion in services in 2014 to these countries. The TPP will remove nearly 18,000 tariffs American businesses face, which will undoubtedly increase exports tot he TPP partner countries.
The U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Economic Analysis shows that Canadian and Japanese companies alone employed approximately 57,200 employees in Florida in 2013. More than 1,300 Florida businesses are subsidiaries of companies based in TPP countries, serving as an important source of business investment and job creation in the state. Statewide there are nearly 942,000 jobs supported by the TPP trade in Florida.
Florida will benefit from the opportunities created by the TPP and we encourage Congress and the President to enact legislation that will implement it.