Greater Irvine Chamber of Commerce
Our mission is to advance the economic vitality of greater Irvine.
Our mission is to advance the economic vitality of greater Irvine.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the U.S.-Japan Business Council provided a written testimony to the U.S. International Trade Commission on Dec. 10, on negotiating objectives for a U.S.-Japan Trade Agreement. As stated in the testimony, the organizations aimed to “emphasize the importance of any potential U.S.-Japan trade agreement to set high-standards and rules in the Indo-Pacific while noting that others in the region are rapidly pursuing and finalizing agreements that have similar potential and far-reaching implications for American business interests.” The potential agreements include the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership that will enter into force Dec. 30, 2018, and the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement which is slated to go into force on Feb. 1, 2019. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the U.S.-Japan Business Council, these agreements, once enacted, will put American companies at a competitive disadvantage in one of the world’s most dynamic economic regions. The Japan-EU Economic Partnership Agreement represents the largest bilateral trade deal negotiated by the E.U., and will establish an open trade zone that covers more than 600 million people. In total, the agreement will remove over 1 billion euros in tariffs paid annually by E.U. companies exporting to Japan—and there were real...
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The Commercial Service team in Singapore has developed several new agreements with Singapore leaders that will help U.S. companies grow their business in the Indo-Pacific, particularly in the region known as ASEAN—the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. With a combined population of 647 million people, a burgeoning middle class, and a young and growing population, the ASEAN region presents tremendous commercial opportunities for U.S. companies. On Sept. 13, Under Secretary for International Trade Gil Kaplan signed Statements of Intent on behalf of the International Trade Administration (ITA) with the Singapore Business Federation, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the Singapore Manufacturing Federation to forge closer ties between U.S. and Singaporean companies and to facilitate ASEAN regional outreach in key areas such as energy, smart cities, aerospace, fintech, and standards. On Nov.16, Vice President Pence and Singapore Prime Minister Lee met in Singapore and announced a two-year government-to-government (G2G) commercial collaboration framework led by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry. The G2G framework reinforces commitments made in September by U.S. and Singaporean industry leaders and encourages U.S. and Singaporean companies to explore cooperative opportunities in Southeast Asia and other relevant third-country markets. The framework prioritizes collaboration...
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New statistics released in December reveal that British businesses are already benefiting from the ability to trade freely with Canada without paying any duties at Canadian customs. UK exports of goods to Canada have increased by 13.7 percent to £6.15 billion in the last 12 months since a new free trade agreement was introduced. The growth in exports coincides with the provisional implementation of the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) in September 2017. It is a significant increase when compared to the 5 years prior to the agreement being introduced, which saw annual trade increase by an average of just 3.9 percent. CETA is one of the most extensive EU free trade agreements to date and removes 98 percent of export duties that are currently in place. The food and drink industry was previously subject to tariffs of up to 11 percent but these have now been reduced to zero in most cases. Meanwhile, auto tariffs are being reduced from 6.1 percent down to zero over several years so the British motor industry is expected to benefit even more in the years ahead. Meat exports to Canada increased by 36.3 percent last year to £2.8m and wine exports grew by 16.6 percent to £1.75 million. A significant...
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After more than a year of negotiations, with plenty of ups and downs along the way, President Donald Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and now former Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto signed the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) on November 30. This agreement – a follow-on to NAFTA – will modernize the trade partnership that has formed the basis of North American relations for a quarter of a century. After carefully assessing the new deal and its impact on our members, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has thrown its support behind the USMCA, which is critical to maintaining strong economic growth in the U.S. The U.S. Chamber will work with the administration and other stakeholders to address a handful of outstanding issues and secure approval of the USMCA in Congress. A critical first step is lifting the tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada and Mexico that were supposed to end once the USMCA was agreed to. These tariffs – imposed on our partners as a negotiating tactic – have invited $15 billion in counter-tariffs on U.S. agricultural and manufactured goods. Every week that the tariffs remain in place, $500 million in U.S. imports and exports are affected, inflicting significant harm on...
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