On August 5, the Secretary of Commerce of the United States, Penny Pritzker, and the CEO of Qualcomm, Steve Mollenkopf, joined a panel composed of a group of local business leaders from companies such as Solar Turbines, Solatube and Northrop Grumman to release a showcase new study from the School of Global Policy and Strategy of UC San Diego on the importance of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) to the US and San Diego. The abstract entitled "San Diego and the Trans-Pacific Partnership," produced by the World Trade Center in San Diego, explains how the unique San Diego economic assets position the region so as to provide relatively greater benefits from TPP than the US as a whole.

The TPP, an international trade agreement negotiated by the Obama administration and other 11 countries of the Pacific coast (which together account for about 40% of global GDP), seeks to reduce trade barriers for exporters and increase protection of intellectual property for multinational companies. Currently, the TPP is composed of Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, USA, Mexico, Peru and Chile.

Peter Cowhey, Acting Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs for UC San Diego, in a line of pro-TPP thought, explained that after Canada (who has a 4.8%), the US is in the second lowest percentage in relation to the effects of the restrictive measures on trade in general, with 5.7%. To better exemplify the magnitude of these figures, an increase of 1% is equivalent to a decrease of 2.3 million dollars in exports.

The geography of San Diego and its important role in international trade

Peter Cowhey stressed that the excellent location of San Diego on the edge of the Pacific Rim, as well as its expertise in advanced manufacturing and other key industries linked to the innovation economy – including scientific research and development, engineering, software and cybersecurity – position the region as a major trading partner for the rest of the members of the TPP. More than 97% of exports from San Diego – mainly high value advanced manufacturing products – are sold in the markets of TPP and add a collective value of $22 billion USD.

Since 2002, the gross regional product (GRP) of San Diego exports related to TPP countries increased by 73%. Exports of the 10 regional products with the highest value aimed at TPP countries, add up to a collective value of $16 billion USD, equivalent to 72% of GRP of San Diego. These exports are:

Today, the major export sectors of San Diego will face a number of moderate fees in the markets of TPP. A reduction in rates suggests that US firms will enjoy a reduction in trading costs, which would allow exporters in the region to lower their prices, and therefore expand their market share.

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