PNITA’s 2019 in Review

2019 was a busy year for the Pacific Northwest International Trade Association (PNITA). In April, we relaunched PNITA back into action to provide advocacy on trade issues impacting our Pacific Northwest economies. We hired a new Executive Director, established our Executive Committee to help guide our work, and launched our social media presence on LinkedIn and Twitter to share regular updates on trade-related developments and news.

With the Portland Business Alliance, we completed the 2019 Oregon State of Trade report in June, providing new insights on the various ways trade benefits workers, businesses and the overall economy in the Pacific Northwest.

We kicked-off a strategic planning effort, wrapping-up in February, that brought together key trade promotion partners from a variety of sectors to create a shared vision for PNITA‘s priorities for the next two years. Special thanks to the 24 distinct organizations (see list below) that participated in this work and provided their invaluable insights.

1. Bank of America
2. Bighorn Communications
3. Boeing
4. British-American Business Council
5. Business Oregon
6. CREDC
7. Columbia Sportswear
8. Greater Portland Inc
9. Greenbrier Gunderson
10. Hilltop Solutions/Oregon Jobs through Trade
11. Japan-America Society of Oregon
12. Nike
13. Oregon Association of Nurseries
14. Oregon Business & Industry
15. Oregon Department of Agriculture
16. Oregon District Export Council
17. Oregon Economic Development Association
18. Port of Portland
19. Port of Vancouver
20. Prosper Portland
21. Oregon Small Business Development Center Network Globe Trade Center
22. Swire-Coca Cola
23. U.S. Commercial Service
24. WorldOregon

We advocated strongly with our Congressional delegation for the passage of the United States – Mexico – Canada Agreement (USMCA) to ensure Oregon and SW Washington companies can continue to expand their trade activities with Canada and Mexico. With the U.S.-China tariff war hitting manufacturing and agriculture in the Pacific Northwest particularly hard, PNITA worked with partners such as the Oregon Business Council, the Pacific Northwest Economic Region and Farmers for Free Trade to highlight the impacts to our regional economy and advocate for a decrease in trade tensions.

We proactively engaged with media partners to provide context and insights on the global and national dynamics shaping trade in our region and held an engaging Forum Breakfast conversation with national thought leader and economist Kimberly Clausing to deconstruct key criticisms of trade.

Become a Partner in Trade Advocacy

There are so many reasons get involved with PNITA, and here are just a few:

• PNITA has a developed a new cross-industry state and federal policy agenda to support trade activity at home and expand global opportunities abroad. We will be undertaking advocacy campaigns on this agenda and invite you to add your voice.
• Your expertise and ideas can turbo-charge our advocacy work. PNITA is establishing two advisory committees for members and partners:
  • The PNITA Trade Policy Advisory Committee will focus on evaluating and shaping policy proposals impacting trade, and developing campaigns for advocacy action.
  • The PNITA Trade Promotion Advisory Committee will focus on holding a regular drumbeat on trade through communication and education campaigns. If you have trade stories to share, we would love to hear from you.
• A PNITA trade-focused newsletter just for you! Starting in February, members and partners will receive monthly communication from PNITA with updates and developments related to our policy agenda, events, and more.

Join us in Washington D.C.

Join the Alliance, Oregon Business & Industry (OBI), the Oregon Business Council (OBC), and the Pacific Northwest International Trade Association (PNITA) from April 1 - April 3, 2020 for our annual trip to Washington, D.C. to discuss the priority issues impacting business and the economy across Oregon and SW Washington.

This is a great opportunity to engage with leaders from our Congressional delegation, the Executive branch, and national policy leaders around a shared policy agenda and to pend time building connections with fellow business leaders. Space is limited so please sign-up soon. To learn more about the event or register, follow this link.

Stay in-the-loop with PNITA

There’s so much more to come in 2020. To receive PNITA’s monthly updates on trade, learn more about our policy agenda, or become a member, email us at [email protected] or tweet us at @tradeinOR.