On July 12, 2017, the Washington State China Relations Council hosted a government and business delegation of 22 members from Guangxi Province. Guangxi is an autonomous region in southern China, bordering Vietnam. It holds one of the biggest seaports in China.

 

In the morning, the delegation joined a meeting with the Washington Council on International Trade (WCIT) and Harris Bricken at Harris Bricken’s Downtown Seattle office. Speaker Ashley Dutta, Vice President of WCIT, addressed the importance of trade to Washington State, especially the international trade relationship with China. Followed by Ashley’s presentation, William Perry, Partner of Harris Bricken shared with the delegation his assessment of the current US political environment and its impact on future US-China trade relations.

 

In the afternoon, Port of Seattle generously provided the venue for the meeting. Speakers include Robert A. Kapp, WSCRC Founding Governor; Emily Lawson, Partner of Harris Bricken; Adams Lee, Partner of Harris Bricken and Eric Schinfeld, Senior Manager Federal and International Government Relations for Port of Seattle. The topics covered during the meeting include: U.S. Anti-Dumping Policy and its impact on international trade between U.S. and China; U.S. Trade Actions on Import and Export; U.S. Custom Law reform; U.S. Customs Compliance and Enforcement; overview of the Port of Seattle and Northwest Seaport Alliance.

 

The delegation had an interactive exchange with the speakers and will return to China on July 17th.