Australia’s Trade Minister has said the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), alongside free trade agreements such as the one signed with China, will form the cornerstone of Australia’s post-mining boom economy, after details of the TPP were released overnight. Supporters of the deal have argued its ability to open up overseas markets for USA companies.
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TPP will cover 40 per cent of the global commerce, and will ease trade among the participant countries – Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the US and Vietnam.
President Barack Obama announced on Thursday that he intends to agree to the massively controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal in a letter to the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate.
USTR Michael Froman commented: “I would also encourage everyone to take a moment to consider the costs of not moving forward with this agreement”.
He says it’s a pathway toward a free-trade agreement of the Asia Pacific.
But the president added that “the TPP includes the strongest labor standards in history, from requiring a minimum wage and worker safety regulations to prohibiting child labor and forced labor”.
Our aim is not to get you a fast or superficial analysis, but a considered and practical outline of what the TPP means for your industry or sector. He will have to rely mostly on Republican votes, while holding on to support from the few Democratic allies willing to confront organised labour and other liberal groups that are sceptical about trade globalisation.
While they need to thoroughly familiarize themselves with the fine details of the agreement, they feel that the US government was able to achieve a well-balanced outcome for all parties, including USA textile manufacturers and their partners in the Western Hemisphere. But critics say that provision would keep drug prices too high.
But it is opposed by unions and many of Obama’s fellow Democrats, including presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who initially backed the developing deal when she was secretary of state during Obama’s first term.
The 12 countries have three years to ratify the agreement.
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The administration notified lawmakers Thursday it plans to sign the 12-nation TPP, starting a countdown to a congressional vote that could come in the middle of next year’s election campaign.
