TPP to give modest boost to U.S. economy
Free-trade deal shows gain of 0.15% by 2032
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement, a deal signed by President Obama to boost U.S. trade with 11 Pacific Rim countries, will generate a modest but positive gain for the U.S. economy, raising the gross domestic product by 0.15% by 2032, according to a report Wednesday by the U.S. International Trade Commission.
By 2032, U.S. annual real income would be $57.3 billion, or 0.23%, higher. Employment would rise by 0.07%, or 128,000 full-time equivalents, it said.
After years of negotiation, President Obama signed in February the agreement that calls for opening the trade borders among the U.S., Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. The report also estimated that:
U. S. exports to the new partner nations would grow 18.7%, or by $34.6 billion. U.S. imports from those countries would be up 10.4%, or by $23.4 billion. U.S. exports overall would grow $27.2 billion, or 1% higher overall, by 2032. U.S. imports would rise $48.9 billion, or 1.1%.
The agriculture and food sectors would be the greatest economic beneficiaries. Their output would be 0.5% higher, or by $10 billion, by 2032.
The services sector will gain $42.3 billion in output.
The trade deal would hamper output in manufacturing, natural resources and energy sectors, down 0.1% or by $10.8 bil- lion, it said.
The USITC’s report was produced at the request of the U.S. Trade Representatives and is required by the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015.
The USITC’s model “estimated that TPP would have positive effects, albeit small as a percentage of the overall size of the U.S. economy,” the USITC said. “TPP would generally establish traderelated disciplines that strengthen and harmonize regulations, increase certainty, and decrease trade costs for firms that trade and invest in the TPP region.”