Dear Senator:

The Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc. (SPI) strongly urges you to support the language of the House Bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) Act without extraneous amendments. Founded in 1937, SPI is the trade association representing one of the largest manufacturing industries in the United States.

SPI's 1,500 members represent the entire plastics industry supply chain, including processors, machinery and equipment manufacturers and raw material suppliers.

The U.S. plastics industry employs 1.5 million workers and provides more than $330 billion in annual shipments. It is an industry that has suffered greatly during the recent economic downturn and is in need of every opportunity available for free trade. Thus, as stated in our organization's trade philosophy statement, "SPI supports the continuous reauthorization of Trade Promotion Authority and calls upon the Administration and Congress to place TPA authorization as a top priority."

Without TPA, as you know, the United States cannot enter into negotiations to reduce tariff and non-tariff trade barriers. TPA is, therefore, critical to our nation's growth and prosperity, as it will allow plastics and other industries to take advantage of quickly expanding market opportunities around the globe. With broad bipartisan support, TPA takes a sensible approach to dealing with the various concerns that have been raised, aiming to promote U.S. values globally and allowing the President's trade negotiators to draw up favorable trade agreements quickly.

In summation, support for TPA will foster economic growth by promoting exports and investment and encouraging competition and technological innovation. A bill such as this would greatly contribute to the overall health and expansion of the plastics industry, a major contributor to the U.S. economy.

Sincerely,

Lori M. Anderson
Senior Director, Global and Economic Affairs

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