As the 14th Round of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations kicks off in Leesburg, VA, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) is welcoming stakeholders to participate by engaging with negotiators, sharing their views and asking questions. Trade agreements like the TPP help small- and medium-sized businesses – like Fulton Bank, which will have a representative at the Stakeholder Engagement event this Sunday – support more jobs at home by opening up new markets for exporters and lowering tariff and non-tariff trade barriers. Many small- and medium-sized American businesses are in the services industry, and one of the most important goals of the TPP is to increase opportunities for those businesses.
Fulton Bank, a full-service commercial bank operating in Virginia, Delaware and Pennsylvania, stands to benefit from the TPP. Currently, service providers like Fulton Bank face many challenges in the global marketplace including local establishment requirements (laws that require banks to have a physical presence in a country to transact business) and significant restrictions on investment. In an increasingly competitive global environment, businesses like Fulton Bank want full and free access to the global marketplace to increase their sales and create more jobs here at home. Frederico Manno, a Vice President at Fulton Bank, shared his thoughts on the TPP and the benefits it would have for the commercial banking industry:
“I believe the eventual passing of this Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement will lower or reduce considerably tariffs and duties and, therefore, it will only help trade among [participating] countries. Consequently, it will just increase the flow of banking business around the world to include international wire payments, foreign exchange transactions, letter of credit instruments and financing to support the export-import trade business that is necessary for the well-being of our global societies. Fulton Bank and other commercial banks will benefit from this path.”
As the TPP negotiations advance, USTR will continue reaching out to stakeholders across the country, seeking their input to craft a 21st century trade agreement that will help U.S. businesses stay globally competitive and support jobs for more Americans.
The 14th round of TPP negotiations began on September 6.
