Trostel’s report on Trans-Pacific Partnership featured in the BDN

The Bangor Daily News highlights a new report by Professor Phil Trostel showing the impact to Maine of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The TPP, creating the world’s largest free-trade zone, would have a small but mostly beneficial impact on Maine.

Philip Trostel, an economist at the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center at UMaine and one of the study’s lead authors, says gains under the TPP for Maine are small because the U.S. already has free trade agreements with six of the 11 TPP nations, including Maine’s most significant trading partner, Canada. As a result, tariffs already are low with these nations and trade flows freely. Free trade with these countries also means cheaper imports as well as growth in earnings from exports of U.S. products. Savings from lower priced goods would give Mainers additional money to spend elsewhere in the economy.

“Most Maine employers aren’t going to be affected by the TPP, although some firms will see increased trade opportunities and expand,” Trostel said.

On the other side of the ledger, TPP could impact the state’s manufacturing sector, as competition from low-cost imports pushes struggling local producers out of the marketplace.

The report concludes that, overall, the Pacific trade pact is a net gain for the Maine economy, though a small one.

Read the full article in the Bangor Daily News:
Maine will benefit from increased trade under the TPP, but those gains are very modest

Maine will benefit from increased trade under the TPP, but those gains are very modest