Dennis Muilenburg, president and CEO of Boeing. Photo courtesy of Boeing.
CHICAGO, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- Boeing president and CEO Dennis Muilenburg commented on the progress made on the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, a deal between the U.S., Japan, and 10 other Pacific countries.
"Free-trade agreements create new opportunities for American companies and their workers," Muilenburg said in a statement. "I thank the United States Trade Representative and fellow trade negotiators for their commitment to finalizing this agreement. U.S. companies need to be able to compete and win in global markets to support well-paying jobs at home. It's critical we provide our manufacturers and exporters with the best tools to compete on a level-playing field in markets worldwide."
Muilenberg succeeded Jim McNerney as Boeing's chief executive in July 2015, overseeing the Chicago-based company that employs more than 165,000 workers. He says the new trade agreement, the largest free-trade deal in history, will be good for his company.
"More than 70 percent of Boeing's commercial airplane revenue last year came from customers outside the United States, while more than 90 percent of our total workforce and 80 percent of our suppliers are based here in the United States," Muilenburg added. "Looking ahead, the global economy will be more important than ever to our future growth."
Multilateral agreement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership follows eight years of negotiations between the United States and Pacific Rim trade partners. If approved, thousands of import tariffs will be overturned, and uniform rules on intellectual property and Internet availability will be put in place on member states, including communist Vietnam.
TPP would include Brunei, Chile, New Zealand, Singapore, Australia, Peru, Vietnam, Malaysia, Mexico, Canada, Japan and the United States.
