TPP Discussions Held During APEC Meeting

by Mary Swire, Tax-News.com, Hong Kong

09 June 2010

Trade ministers of the eight countries looking to join in the new Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) met in Sapporo, Japan, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting, to exchange views and provide guidance to negotiators ahead of the second round of talks.

The original TPP agreement was signed by New Zealand, Chile, Singapore and Brunei in July 2005. President Obama confirmed in November last year that the United States was looking to join in an expanded agreement. Australia, Peru and Vietnam, as new prospective members, also participated in the first round of negotiations in Melbourne in March this year. The second round of talks is to be later this month in San Francisco.

The Ministers affirmed their enthusiasm for the initiative, which they see as a strong platform for Asia-Pacific economic integration, and discussed how best to achieve their mutual goal of concluding a high-standard, 21st-century free trade agreement (FTA).

The TPP ministers underscored the importance of reaching meaningful outcomes in all areas typically included in high-standard FTAs. They also directed negotiators to develop proposals in new areas, including regulatory coherence, regional integration, development competitiveness, small and medium-sized enterprises, and transparency. The ministers instructed negotiators to seek consensus on the relationship between the TPP and the pre-existing FTAs among them.

Ministers also considered the question of participation by additional countries and expressed their interest in further expanding the group to countries that are ready and willing to meet the objectives they have set for the agreement. In this regard, the US has previously said that it would welcome an interest on the part of Malaysia to join in the expanded TPP.

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