USTR and Other Ministers Announce Broad Outlines of TPP Agreement
According to the Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade Ministers’ Report to Leaders, TPP negotiating teams1 have held nine rounds of negotiations and report that they have established the broad outlines of a TPP agreement to further elevate trade and investment relationships, create the foundation of a Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific, and support jobs, economic growth, and higher living standards in the TPP countries.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
Highlights of the five features which the Ministers say will define the TPP agreement and set a new standard for trade agreements in the future include:
Simultaneous Duty-Free Access, Lifting of Restrictions on Services
The countries have agreed to pursue an agreement that is comprehensive and ambitious in all areas, eliminating tariffs and other barriers to trade and investment. Headway was made in work to negotiate the market access packages for goods, services and investment even as they work to address the specific sensitivities between the countries and build upon previous free trade agreements.
The goal is to have comprehensive, duty-free access to each other’s goods markets and restrictions on services lifted simultaneously so as to create new opportunities for our workers and businesses and immediate benefits for our consumers.
Regional Agreement with Single Tariff Schedule, Common Origin Rules
The nine countries also have agreed to develop a single tariff schedule as well as common rules of origin that will make it easier for businesses to take advantage of the agreement. This regional approach will help encourage the use of TPP inputs. As market access packages and the rules of origin are negotiated, the countries will consider the most effective approach to promote trade among the TPP partners, noting the need for simple and enforceable rules.
Regional supply chains, standards to be included too. The TPP teams have also agreed to construct a fully regional agreement that facilitates trade and the development of production and supply chains among TPP members. For the first time in a trade agreement, the countries are also including commitments that will address issues related to the development of regional production and supply chains holistically, including issues related to connectivity, customs cooperation, and standards.
Cross-Cutting Trade Issues Include Regulatory Coherence, Etc.
The TPP countries have agreed to build on work being done in APEC and other fora by incorporating across the TPP four new, cross-cutting issues.
Promote regulatory coherence. The TPP countries have agreed to include specific commitments across the agreement to promote regulatory coherence that will make trade between TPP countries more business-friendly and efficient and create the conditions necessary to substantially boost trade in the TPP region, while taking into account the legitimate policy objectives of each country. The TPP countries have agreed to work to improve regulatory practices, eliminate unnecessary barriers, reduce regional divergence in standards, promote transparency, conduct regulatory processes in a more trade-facilitative manner, eliminate redundancies in testing and certification, and promote cooperation on specific regulatory issues.
The TPP countries have also agreed to include joint work and additional commitments on food safety, animal, and plant health issues of common concern that would build upon existing WTO rights and obligations to enhance consultation and cooperation on these matters and provide a forum for improving the understanding of issues related to the implementation of WTO sanitary and phytosanitary measures.
Recognize role of supply chains in enhancing competitiveness. The TPP countries have agreed to include new commitments to enhance the domestic and regional competitiveness of each Party’s economy and promote economic integration in the region. The TPP countries also have recognized the significant role supply chains play in enhancing competitiveness and economic development.
The TPP countries are also discussing a first-of-its-kind mechanism to facilitate enhanced dialogue between government and stakeholders on competitiveness priorities in the TPP region, including supply chains to ensure that the implementation of the agreement continues to respond to evolving business and investment practices in the 21st century.
Address SME concerns. The TPP countries have agreed to include commitments to address concerns small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have raised about the difficulty in understanding and using FTAs. They have agreed to undertake joint commitments to enhance SMEs’ access to relevant and usable information and resources about the TPP Agreement and to coordinate to ensure that SMEs are able to take advantage of the agreement after it is implemented.
Address development issues. The TPP countries are working to identify the most appropriate tools to address the issue of development during the negotiation process, including targeted trade capacity building assistance and negotiated implementation flexibilities, where appropriate.
Address New Trade Challenges Such as Cloud Computing, Green Growth, Etc.
The TPP countries have agreed to consider as part of the negotiations new challenges that have emerged in global trade, such as cloud computing and green growth.
TPP to be Developed as “Living Agreement”
The TPP countries have agreed to develop the TPP as a living agreement. The TPP teams are establishing a structure, institutions, and processes that allow the agreement to evolve in response to developments in trade, technology or other emerging issues and challenges. They envision a continuing joint work program, including new commitments in areas of common interest or to enable them to quickly respond to developments in global trade or technology. In addition, the TPP teams are consulting with those that have expressed interest in joining to ensure that they are aware of the goals and objectives that the countries have agreed to pursue.
Next Steps Include More Talks, Dec 2011 Meeting
The TPP countries expressed the view that they can build on the momentum they have achieved in the negotiations so far to successfully conclude the TPP agreement and negotiating teams are prepared to meet in the coming weeks and months to achieve this goal.
According to the TPP Leaders’ statement, they have instructed their negotiating teams to meet in early December 2011 to continue their work and furthermore to schedule additional negotiating rounds for 2012.
1Currently U.S., Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam.
(See ITT’s Online Archives 11111405 for summary of announcement of interest of Japan, Canada, and Mexico in consulting on joining TPP talks.
See ITT’s Online Archives 11103111 for summary of letter from group of Representatives urging U.S. negotiators to leverage textiles for other TPP gains.
See ITT's Online Archives 11103127 for summary of USTR statement that considerable progress was made in the 9th round of TPP talks, with links to other daily USTR summaries of the TPP talks.
See ITT's Online Archives 1101717 for summary of a USTR official saying the TPP "outline" was on track for November 2011 and that Trade Promotion Authority was not yet needed.)
Trade Ministers’ Report to Leaders available here
Fact sheet available here
TPP Leaders statement available here
Remarks by President Obama on the broad outline of the TPP agreement available here