Tacoma and Seattle ports had been talking for months about closer collaboration

A new cooperative effort to retain and attract shipping business to the Pacific Northwest unveiled Thursday night was born from new competitive conditions that threatened the ports of Seattle and Tacoma’s growth.

“John (Wolfe, Port of Tacoma CEO) and Tay (Yoshitani, Port of Seattle chief executive) have been talking for months,” said Port of Tacoma spokeswoman Tara Mattina Friday.

Both sides said the new information sharing is not a prelude to a merger of the two ports, a measure likely to encounter stern political opposition.

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