Reston, VA - Members of NPES The Association for Suppliers of Printing, Publishing and Converting Technologies and other U.S. exporters, as well as American workers and consumers, scored a huge victory when President Obama signed Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) legislation into law as Congress recessed for Independence Day.

NPES Government Affairs Chairman Ron Rose, President, Nova Pressroom Products, LLC, praised the bi-partisan cooperation of President Obama and congressional Republicans who joined forces in the culmination of a long debate and an intense final month of lobbying, calling enactment of TPA "a very significant victory and critical step forward for U.S. international trade competitiveness."

Joining other pro-TPA business groups, over 50 leading printing industry business executives actively engaged 80 congressional offices—including over one-third of the Senate—urging support for TPA during the PRINT'S VOICE 15 Capitol Hill Fly-In co-hosted by NPES and Printing Industries of America. They personally told their senators and representatives how important international trade is to their businesses, and how it supports their employees' jobs.

With 95% of the world's consumers living outside the United States, NPES President Ralph Nappi emphasized "how important TPA is to U.S. manufacturers' ability to effectively compete for a greater share of the $11.8 trillion global market for manufactured goods, which includes international markets for printing, publishing and converting technologies that were recently documented in the NPES World-wide Market for Print research report." 

Among the research findings noted is the importance of Pacific Rim markets that are the subject of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade negotiations, and the continued significance of the EU that is the focus of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). The 28 EU countries include 20 of the top 50 printing equipment markets in the world, worth $4.2 billion or 27% of the total global market.

The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) reports that trade agreements negotiated under earlier TPA authority are delivering for American manufacturers and workers. The United States enjoys a $130 billion manufacturing trade surplus with its 20 existing trade agreement partners. And in 2012, those countries purchased nearly half of all U.S. manufactured goods exports.

While the U.S. market is largely open to the world and has the lowest tariffs on manufactured goods of any G20 country, American manufacturers face steep trade barriers abroad. Without TPA, these manufacturers risked being left behind as other countries negotiate trade agreements that exclude them. With TPA, Congress and the President now can forge a partnership that facilitates development and approval of trade agreements.

On behalf of the industry and association, NPES Government Affairs Director Mark Nuzzaco commended and thanked those who voted for TPA. NPES urges individual companies in the industry to do the same with their senators and representatives. Nuzzaco stated, "This was not an easy vote. In some cases votes came with a significant political price, as they were cast in the face of stiff opposition from unions and other anti-trade factions."