A Look at the Trans-Pacific Partnership

Posted by Ian McGinnis, Intern

The Trans-Pacific Partnership is a free trade agreement among the United States and 11 other Pacific Rim countries. Generally speaking, the agreement lowers tariffs and reduces barriers to trade among all countries involved. The trade agreement is one of the largest ever, consisting of 40% of the global GDP and 25% of the world’s exports. Full text of the agreement can be found on the United States Trade Representative website.

As with any policy decisions, there will be negatives and positives. One positive of the TPP tariff reductions is the gains to be made in the agricultural sector. The export tariffs on certain goods such as fruit and soybeans are cut, giving an edge to companies that export these products. Also, machinery export tariffs are cut, which could provide that sector with a nice push. Big pharmaceuticals may not have as positive of an outlook on the TPP due to decreased intellectual property rights changes. Another way the TPP may affect the U.S. is with reduced tariffs, import competition will increase because of the decrease in price. This may have an adverse effect on the economy due to displacement of jobs. However, this will most likely be offset by job churn.

Many estimates show small gains to be made relative to currently projected growth in the U.S. This is due to the fact that 40% of American exports go to the six countries in the TPP that we already have trade agreements with, and only 6% of current exports go to the TPP countries that we do not have current agreements with. Much of the gains to be made in this deal are in countries which need greater market access such as Japan, Vietnam, and Malaysia.

This is just a brief snapshot of the agreement. There are many sources from which you can learn about it and how it will have an effect on your community; here are a few:

A short paper by Jay Bryson, Wells Fargo economist, on the TPP

Nobel prize winner Paul Krugman’s opinion

Interview with Stanford Economist Michael Boskin

Interview with Gary Hufbauer, International Trade Expert at the Peterson Institute

Brookings Institute Fellow’s piece on it

WSJ Opinion Article "Some U.S. Industries Seen as Winners in Pacific Trade Pact"

Industry Week Article "How Could the Trans-Pacific Partnership Affect You or Your Business?"

[Photo via Saigoneer]

5th Year for the Pennsylvania Pavilion at the Summer Fancy Food Show

Posted by: Hannah Copenheaver

The World Trade Center Harrisburg partnered for the 5th year with Pennsylvania's Office of International Business Development in organizing the Pennsylvania Pavilion at the 62nd annual Summer Fancy Food Show.

The show was held at the Javits Convention Center in New York City from June 26-28, 2016.

The Fancy Food Show is North America's largest show for the specialty food and beverage industry and attracts a large number of foreign buyers.

This Year's Show Recap:

- This year was the largest since the show’s 1954 inception.
- More than 47,000 specialty food professionals filled the exhibit halls (equal to 6 football fields).
- There were over 2,670 exhibitors, from over 55 countries, displaying their delicious foods!
- Nearly 60 Pennsylvanian companies exhibited throughout the show.

Neilly's Foods

Pennsylvania Pavilion: 

The Pennsylvania Pavilion included 13 companies, with four from our southcentral region.

Companies were able to arrange pre-scheduled appointments with foreign buyers, which took place the day before the show opened.

BumbleBerry Farms (Stoystown - Southern Alleghenies Region)

DelGrosso Foods (Tipton - Southern Alleghenies Region)

Giorgio Foods Inc. (Temple - Southcentral Region)

Little Baby's Ice Cream

Irenes's Bakery & Gourmet Kitchen (Bensalem - Southeast Region)

Little Baby's Ice Cream (Philadelphia - Southeast Region)

Love Beets (Bala Cynwyd - Southeast Region)

My Boy's Baking (Allentown - Lehigh Valley Region)

Naked Granola (State College - Central Region)

Neilly's Foods (York - Southcentral Region)

Sweet Note Bakery

Nuts About Granola  (York - Southcentral Region)

Pretzel Pete (SB Global Foods, Inc.) (Montgomeryville - Southeast Region)

Sweet Note Bakery (Bensalem - Southeast Region)

Wolfgang Candy (York - Southcentral Region)

Click here to view our Facebook album to see more pictures!

Hannah Joins Core PA on the Mining, Oil & Gas Tour

Posted by: Hannah Copenheaver

World Trade Center Harrisburg partner CORE PA Global hosted a tour for seven journalists to showcase Pennsylvania companies involved in the mining, oil and gas field from June 13 to 17, 2016. The tour took place in the western part of the state, beginning in Berlin and ending in New Castle. Hannah accompanied the tour for the week as a Core PA Representative. 

The tour was CORE PA funded and executed, with additional support from the TEAM PA
Foundation, Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED), and Tierney, a public relations firm, whose services were secured through DCED. 

With the "core" region of Pennsylvania having a large, diverse manufacturing history, inviting international journalists to tour the Commonwealth is beneficial for attracting foreign direct investment into the region. They are able to gain first-hand experience, which makes for a stronger story and a lasting connection. The ultimate goal is to send a message to prospective foreign investors that Pennsylvania is a great place to do business.

The attending journalists included:

• Anthony Barich (Australia)

• International Coal News, Mining News, Mining Journal, Mining Monthly
• Gloria Towolawi (U.S)
• USA Oil and Gas Monitor
• Margaret Nongo-Okojokwu (Nigeria)
• Orient Energy Review
• Peter Darling (UK)
• Mining WorldLink, Coal International, Mining World
• Michael Reed (U.S.)
• Pipeline & Gas Journal
• Jamie Zachary (Canada)
• PROCESSWest, IPP&T
• Arun Kumar Singhal (India)
• DEW Journal

The tour featured presentations and site visits to the following industry leaders:

Hannah in the model of the shuttle that
rescued the Chilean miners in 2010.

• Center Rock (Berlin)
• Provides construction, mining and quarry equipment. 
• Their equipment was used to save 33 miners trapped in Chile in 2010.
• Environmental Tank and Container (Johnstown)
• A leading manufacturer of equipment for the oil and gas industries.
• Curry Supply (Martinsburg)
• One of America’s largest manufacturers and dealers of commercial service vehicles.
• “O” Ring CNG Fuel Systems (Brookville)
• The first private compressed natural gas (CNG) fuel station in the state. 
• The owner converted 16 vehicles to be fueled by CNG, resulting in halved annual fuel costs. 
• Noise Solutions Inc. (Sharon)
• North America’s leading provider of engineered industrial noise suppression for the energy sector.
• Ezeflow Group (New Castle)
• Mostly works with carbon steel for pipeline work. 
• A successful, and strategic, move from Texas to Pennsylvania. They have invested over $5 million in the Pennsylvania site since buying the facility in 2011.

Throughout the tour, the journalists also heard keynote presentations from local partners about their respective regions' economic development initiatives and opportunities, leaders and experts from the industry, and other complimentary companies. 

A few of the journalists have already publicized their articles. You can read their reports by clicking here. 

The group at Blackbird Distillery

Hard hats and boots during the ETC tour

Taking a tour of the vehicles at Curry Supply

ABOUT CORE PA:

SEDA-Council of Governments is the host organization for CORE PA Global, which is an
initiative established to increase the visibility of a 53-county footprint of Pennsylvania to
international and domestic investors. The initiative partners with over 50 economic development organizations and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to attract, retain and grow business and industry in the region. 

Core PA has hosted several tours to date, with this being the second tour with a mining, oil and gas focus. WTC Harrisburg previously participated in the first tour - focused on the food industry - when they came to York, PA in 2014.

Customs Valuation Issues for Imports into China

by WTC Guest Blogger Ted Murphy, Partner, Baker & McKenzie LLP

China recently amended its customs declaration requirements to capture new information that may make it easier for the General Administration of Customs to target potential customs valuation issues.  Specifically, importers are now required to identify whether the buyer and the seller are related; whether that relationship influenced the price charged; and whether the importer is making any royalty payments.  A client alert my colleagues in China prepared on these changes may be found here.

Given the increased scrutiny China Customs has paid to related party transactions and the payment of royalties in recent years, we expect that the new declaration requirements will only intensify this trend.  If you are importing into China, you need to be aware of these issues and be sure they are adequately addressed (e.g., have you confirmed whether royalties are being paid and, if so, whether they are dutiable for customs purposes?).

Ted Murphy

Partner

Baker & McKenzie LLP

815 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20006

Tel:  +1 202 452 7069

ted.murphy@bakermckenzie.com