US President Barack Obama faces a growing political opposition including those from his party colleagues, trade and labour unions and businesses on what he described as a “historic” 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal that links 40 per cent of the global economy.
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“The TPP agreement would not be possible without the extraordinary efforts of the negotiating team at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, assisted by the dedicated staff of USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service and the Office of the Chief Economist”.
“Keep in mind that when it comes to setting up these trade rules internationally, our goal is constantly to raise the bar, and you’re never going to get 100 percent of what you want right away”, Obama said in the interview.
“We’ve heard a few good things about what’s in that agreement, nothing firm, and it’ll be probably at least several weeks before we see what’s in it. But, especially meat exports, Iowa is big exporter of pork of course and certainly our beef goes overseas, and a few grains too”, Northey says.
“Our cattle industry witnessed the damage ill-conceived free trade agreements have wrought upon the U.S. sheep industry, shrinking it by more than half and relegating it to a residual supplier of lamb and mutton in our own domestic market”, R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard said in a statement.
The United States had sought 12 years of protection to encourage pharmaceutical companies to invest in expensive biological treatments like Genentech’s cancer treatment Avastin. The agreement would protect the data for between five and eight years, The New York Times reported. The agreement also provides for transitional periods to help member states develop capacity to implement new obligations.
Manufacturers, especially garment makers, are scrambling to move part of their production to Vietnam in anticipation that the deal will require sourcing materials from participating countries.
“This is one of the most challenging issues in the negotiations, ” Froman said about biologics.
Countries outside the bloc, however, could face difficulties if new trade norms and market access concessions affect their trade with TPP countries, it said.
A politically charged set of issues surrounding protections for dairy farmers was also addressed in the final hours of talks, officials said. “We obviously would have preferred that no additional market access be conceded in the dairy sector”, said DFC President, Wally Smith.
Separately, the United States, Mexico, Canada and Japan also agreed on rules governing the auto trade that dictate how much of a vehicle must be made within the TPP region in order to qualify for duty-free status. “This is an opportunity for the United States to continue expanding agricultural exports, providing through this agreement a level playing field for American producers”.
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The TPP cuts trade tariffs and sets common trade standards for participating countries and also covers labor and environmental standards, the ministry said.
