Michigan’s exports of goods and services to countries in the U.S. Trans-Pacific Partnership increased to $38.6 billion in 2011 from $25.4 billion in 2009, according to figures released Monday by the Business Roundtable. Although services data for 2012 — travel services, passenger fares, etc. — is not yet available, exports of goods alone last year totaled $38.9 billion.
The report also noted that trade between Michigan and the 11 countries within the Pacific partnership supported more than 435,000 jobs in the state in 2011.
The statistics were released amid Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations between the United States, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam — are expected to be completed this year. The final agreement will support economic growth and jobs by removing trade barriers for goods and services, improving intellectual property protection, and creating new trade rules.
“The 11 other TPP countries represent critical markets for U.S. goods and services exports, accounting for a combined population of 482 million people and representing roughly 15 percent of global trade,” said John Engler, president of the Business Roundtable and former Michigan governor. “The TPP holds significant potential to create new opportunities for Michigan, all 50 states, and the overall U.S. economy to benefit from increased commercial engagement with these countries.”
Not only will the agreement expand trade and investment with the six negotiating countries that have existing bilateral U.S. Free Trade Agreement partners — Australia, Canada, Chile, Mexico, Peru, and Singapore — it will also open new markets in Brunei, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, and Vietnam.
In 2012, Michigan’s exported about $37.2 billion worth of goods — motor vehicles, oil and gas, machinery, chemicals, etc. — to the TPP countries that are U.S. FTA partners, accounting for about 65 percent of the state’s global goods exports. In comparison, it exported just $1.7 billion of goods to the negotiating countries that are not current U.S. FTA partners.
