Hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, the city of Tacoma in Washington State has embarked on a recovery plan that took on board valuable lessons learned from a prolonged and costly lockdown and includes environmentally friendly measures.
Asked about those lessons, Tacoma City Project Manager Debbie Bingham told GMI POST: “Our focus should be on entrepreneurs and small companies who make a huge base of our economy. The pandemic made us realize that we needed to pay more attention to that”.
Bingham attributed the city’s economic rebound to the resurgence of operations in the Port of Tacoma on Commencement Bay, one of the largest in the Pacific Northwest, as well as in its hospitals and the Joint Base Lewis–McChord military installation southwest of the city.
One of the major economic assets of the city, the Port of Tacoma accounts for 10% of total employment with nearly half of that (45%) being industrial jobs, according to official figures.
To increase direct investment and expand international trade, Bingham said Tacoma continues to strengthen its partnerships. According to Make It Tacoma, the investment promotion project of the City of Tacoma Community and Economic Development Department, the city’s largest trading market remains Asia, with Japan and China accounting for nearly $36 billion in goods alone.
“Trade has rebounded. Japan is still our No. 1 export partner and has been for a very long time. It is (also) our third-largest importer,” Bingham said.
With its positive momentum, growing population and strong government support, Tacoma looks forward to new industry partnerships with Japan, said Bingham, who singled out aerospace as the newest growth industry.
According to Bingham, Tacoma is also looking to build a green hydrogen plant and produce sustainable aviation fuel in line with its biofuel program and efforts by the United States and Japan to increase investments in green technology.
