The Trans-Pacific Partnership is central to President Barack Obama’s policy of greater engagement with Asia to offset rising Chinese influence in the region.
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“There has been a shift in Beijing’s attitude towards the TPP with the new leadership”, said Wang. But when 95 percent of the world’s markets are outside of our borders, we’ve got to do even better than that, particularly at a time when our economy is actually doing better than a lot of other countries and they want to sell stuff here.
“Perhaps most significantly, the wider economy should benefit as previously protected sectors are exposed to competition”, Marcel Theilant of Capital Economics said in a report.
The USA and Japan – the first and third largest economies in the world – have anchored the talks.
Although corporate profits are at sky-high levels, growth remains weak and the economy appears to be tipping back into its second recession in two years.
The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), US Dairy Export Council (USDEC) and the worldwide Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) – who collectively represent the interests of American dairy producers, processors and exporters – thanked US TPP negotiators for their efforts.
But analysts said the deal is not the magic bullet Abe was hoping for. Malaysia adds a 40-percent tariff on USA poultry.
But while Froman and US companies believe lower trade barriers in Japan and elsewhere will boost exports, trade unions and presidential candidates of both parties think otherwise.
Vilsack said big agricultural winners will be beef, fruit and vegetable growers. “There are still a few procedures remaining, like ratification in the Diet, so I will raise my voice and protest”. Forty percent of Japan’s population is forecast to be over the age of 65 by 2050.
Pharmaceutical companies complain that the agreement does not include the 12 years of patent protection they wanted for genetically engineered drugs. “This could help push down healthcare costs”, said Smith of CLSA.
That is not to say that this deal is an offset to China’s increasing belligerence in Asia, or enables us to take a more relaxed attitude towards the Communist regime’s new ability to develop missiles that can sink our aircraft carriers. Mr Kim said Seoul has been engaged in talks with all the TPP nations and they agreed that “it makes sense for it (Korea) to join”. But the government has in the past repeatedly raised questions about the transparency of the negotiating process.
President Obama announced his support of the agreement Monday, but also acknowledged the concerns of those groups, saying that the full text of the treaty will be released shortly, and that the public will have the chance to comb through the language as Congress considers ratifying it. Others regretted the fact that China was not involved at the outset in negotiations to shape a new regional trading pact.
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The agreement is expected to boost trade and investment flows between TPP countries as well as integrate the region into a single manufacturing base and market, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said in a statement yesterday. “That will create historical difficulties for China in a long run”. China launched an infrastructure and investment bank this year that undercuts the U.S.- and Japanese-led Asian Development Bank. The pact was now viewed not only as a threat but also as an incentive to drive China’s economic reforms, he said.
