Trade ministers sign pact focused on Asia-Pacific region

Trade ministers of the United States and 11 other Pacific Rim countries attend a press conference after negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement in Atlanta, the United States, on Oct 5, 2015.

In Auckland and in the United States, among other countries, protestors have voiced their anger about the trade pact over the past several months.

Republican U.S. Senator Rob Portman on Thursday said he opposes the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal in its present form, dealing a significant blow to the pact a day after officials from 12 countries signed it.

It was reported that the signing ceremony was held at the SKYCITY Auckland Convention Centre at 9am.

Business, farming and mining groups applauded the signing of the deal, which will remove 98 per cent of tariffs on Australian exports to TPP countries.

According to him, Malaysia has never been forced or pressured to participate in the TPPA.

The SBF said that the TPP will present more opportunities for companies seeking to do business in the Asia Pacific and will provide additional pathways of growth for Singaporean companies. However, China remains the largest trading partner of numerous TPP’s members in the West Pacific, such as Australia and Japan.

Australia has also seen growing opposition to the deal with 59 organisations, including numerous trade unions and the Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network, signing an open letter calling on the government to commission an independent cost-benefit analysis of TPP.

“TPP allows America – and not countries like China – to write the rules of the road in the 21st Century”.

While the deal was signed today it is yet to be ratified. It was agreed in October last year after years of negotiations and multiple missed deadlines.

“TPP is our biggest-ever free trade deal and is estimated to boost our economy by at least NZ$2.7 billion a year by 2030”.

Trade ministers from 12 countries have inked a controversial United States-led regional trade agreement in New Zealand, paving the path for freer movement of goods and services between the member economies.

The deal grew out of a smaller trade block involving New Zealand, Chile, Singapore and Brunei.