The
agreement formerly known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership has been resurrected
and it now goes by the name Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for
Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).Though it had been widely assumed the TPP
would be left for dead after the U.S. removed itself from the trade deal in
January, the remaining 11 nations are dedicated to getting something out of all
the years that went into negotiating the first deal, and last week they agreed
on a framework to move forward with.
Ministers
from the TPP 11—Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New
Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam—met on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation forum in Danang, Vietnam last week and agreed on key
aspects of the CPTPP pact.“Ministers are pleased to announce that they have
agreed on the core elements of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for
Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP),” a joint statement noted. “Ministers agree
that the CPTPP maintains the high standards, overall balance and integrity of
the TPP while ensuring the commercial and other interests of all participants
and preserving our inherent right to regulate, including the flexibility of the
parties to set legislative and regulatory priorities.”
The
group has agreed to incorporate provisions of the TPP, with the exception of
certain provisions that will be suspended, some of which are related to express
delivery, telecommunication disputes and investment.Now it remains for each
country to pursue its own domestic processes while officials work on things
like finalizing items where there’s still not consensus, and legally verifying
and translating the finalized text in preparation to be signed.“The substance is something all the TPP countries can agree on,” Japan’s trade
minister Toshimitsu Motegi told reporters on the sidelines of the APEC meeting,
according to the Japan Times. “This will send a very strong message to the U.S.
and the other countries in the region.”The U.S., however, appeared to be
sending a strong message of its own just one day earlier.
In his speech at the APEC meeting, President Trump slammed multilateral trade
deals and what they’ve done for the U.S. Carrying out his America First
promise, Trump said the U.S. will compete on a “fair and equal basis” and that
it won’t allow itself to be taken advantage of.“I will make bilateral trade
agreements with any Indo-Pacific nation that wants to be our partner and that
will abide by the principles of fair and reciprocal trade. What we will no
longer do is enter into large agreements that tie our hands, surrender our
sovereignty, and make meaningful enforcement practically impossible,” the
president said.
For now it seems CPTPP is forging its path forward irrespective of the U.S.
position—and despite Canada’s perceived stalling.Canadian Prime Minister Justin
Trudeau missed a leaders’ meeting on TPP last week, which came just days after
Trudeau said Canada wouldn’t be rushed into a deal that didn’t meet its own
interests. Though some said he deliberately skipped the meeting, the country’s
Minister of International Trade Francois-Philippe Champagne said a scheduling
mix-up was to blame for Trudeau’s absence and that Canada remains interested in
seeing progress on the CPTPP.Some of Canada’s hold-ups, according to Champagne,
have to do with environment and labor rights.In a tweet Monday, Trudeau said:
“On the TPP trade deal: We’ve been working hard on it this week in Asia, and
we’re going to keep negotiating until we get the best agreement possible for Canadian
workers & businesses. We won’t sign it until that happens.”
Source: High Plains Journal, U.S.A Wednesday, 15 November 2017