TPP signing marks ‘important milestone’ for regional trade: Lim Hng Kiang

“Our goal is to enhance shared prosperity, create jobs and promote sustainable economic development for all of our nations”, the trade representatives said in a joint statement.

“TPP liberalised trade, and makes it easier to do trade across the region”.

Prime Minister John Key said security had been stepped up to keep representatives safe.

They now have two years to ratify the controversial agreement which seeks to remove barriers to trade and investments among the group of countries, which currently account for 40 percent of the world’s economy.

TPP trade ministers announced in October previous year that they had finally struck a deal after several days of crunch talks.

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.

Earlier, ministers received a traditional Maori welcome from Ngati Whatua marking the beginning of proceedings.

The delegates were escorted to the SkyCity center under tight security as protestors began to gather at a nearby city-center square to demonstrate against the signing of the deal.

New Zealand is acting as the TPP depositary, taking responsibility for administrative functions. “This means we take responsibility for some administrative functions”, says Mr McClay.

Rowan Brooks, one of the organizers of Thursday’s action, told Al Jazeera, “Basically it eats away at New Zealand’s sovereignty and the whole process was undemocratic”.

American economist and Nobel Prize victor Joseph Stiglitz believes the TPP ‘may turn out to be the worst trade agreement inked ever’.

In Australia, Labor, the Greens and the crossbenchers have expressed doubts about the deal, citing concerns about the inclusion of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) clauses, which corporations can use to sue federal and state governments if laws are enacted that adversely affect them.

The TPP is an expansion of the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement (known as P4), which was signed by Brunei, Chile, Singapore and New Zealand in 2006.

It’s expected that TPP will come into force within two years of signing, once countries have completed their domestic legislative procedures.