TPP leaders sit down for talks at APEC

A few political pundits say this is The Obama administration’s attempt to rebalance economic policy after American foreign policy has bogged down in the Middle East. Others say it’s the administration’s attempt to contain China.

In his remarks, Mr. Obama said: “We welcome the Philippines’ interest in TPP and we have directed our trade ministers to have discussions about how TPP is going to be implemented among the original 12 countries [sic] and how we can work with the Philippines to follow through on its interest”.

The controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is slated to hit Mexico with more food insecurity and hard times for farmers by extending tariff exemptions to more countries.

Hong Kong, he said, has been ranked as the freest economy in the world – “we’ve been ranked the freest economy in the world for 20 years in a row”.

The Liberals, who won a federal election last month, say they are examining the 6,000-page document and want to consult Canadians before making a decision.

But the 12-country agreement is more than 2,700 pages long, plus annexes, and a lot of it reads like this: “The parties shall at all times endeavor to agree on the interpretation and application of this agreement, and shall make every attempt through cooperation and consultations to arrive at a mutually satisfactory resolution”.

Putting micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) at the forefront of inclusive growh is the APEC’s focus for the year.

“I doubt seriously that we’re going to get that resolved by 2016”, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch told Reuters.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Penny Pritzker, also supports the trade plan for the trans-pacific. Since the negotiations broke down in 2008, there have been attempts to revive the talks but to no avail.

We will continue working with our European partners to achieve an ambitious T-TIP agreement that meets our shared goals, increases trade and investment, and creates a more prosperous future on both sides of the Atlantic. Beijing officially welcomed the pact, saying it hoped the deal would promote Asia-Pacific trade.

We are pleased that the negotiated‎ text of the TPP agreement is now available in full for review and consideration before it is signed.

A FTAAP was mooted at Apec in Hanoi in 2006 but more recently it has been promoted by China’s president, Xi JinPing.

APEC, which accounts for 60 percent of global output and almost half of world trade, is aiming for a larger free trade area for its 21 economies by 2025, but a re-emergence in a few states of protectionism as growth stutters could be a hindrance. By implying, and often outright stating, that TPP critics are uninformed protectionists who just oppose trade in any form, they attempt to shut down debate.

Relatively, Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chunying said expansion of APEC economies will get additional boost from expanded free trade deals. But there are a number of other trade deals underway.