Pritzker opts for closer Polish-US trade ties

US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker believes that the trade between Poland and the United States should be increased. “We have had deep trading ties for a very long time, but they are not deep enough,” she said at a press conference on Monday morning. The secretary named a variety of sectors of the economy, where in her opinion there are opportunities for trade growth, including defense, IT, green buildings, intelligent transportation, energy, infrastructure. She mentioned the issue of the possible exports of Polish fruit and vegetables to the US, in an effort to ease the impact of the Russian embargo on Poland. This is an area of competence of the secretary of agriculture and the administration will pursue endeavors to make that opportunity available, she said. “Poland has been a great ally,” Pritzker stressed, referring to the recent international situation. “And for that, the United States is very grateful.” Referring to the ongoing negotiations of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership agreement, Pritzker said that it is “a very important endeavor” and that the negotiations were “vigorous.” She, however declined to state a possible time frame of their completion. When asked about possible LNG sales to Poland, Pritzker said that “the United States takes Poland’s energy security very seriously.” “The Department of Energy has conditionally approved about 10.5 billion cubic feet of LNG exports per day. That is greater than the amount that Europe imports each day,” she said. Terminals in Europe need to be expanded and the US Department of Energy is studying further options, she added. Pritzer came to Poland on what she called an “economic fact-finding trip” together with members of the President’s Export Council. On Monday, she met Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister Janusz Piechociński.