Scrutiny begins as TPP text released

“These standards are at the core of the agreement and are fully enforceable – which means we can bring trade sanctions against countries that don’t step up their game”.

Obama also formally notified Congress later in the day that he intends to sign the 12-nation free trade agreement, kicking off a 90-day waiting period, after which he can sign it and seek ratification from Congress.

Under the agreement, countries promise to avoid “unfair currency practices and refrain from competitive devaluation”.

“Many countries from around the world already sell their products in the United States, but without a trade agreement, we are essentially letting other nations write our trade laws”, Jenkins said. Early Thursday, the White House posted the text of the deal on Medium, a social media sharing website, along with the president’s statement hailing the agreement as a “new type of trade deal that puts American workers first”.

The full text of the controversial trade agreement was unveiled Thursday afternoon.

China is “assessing the effects” of the U.S.-backed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) regional trade accord, the Ministry of Commerce said on Friday.

“For the first time in a trade agreement, there are provisions that prohibit restrictions on cross border data flows and local data storage, permit companies and individuals to use their choice of cyber security and encryption tools, and ensure the protection and enforcement of trade secrets”.

The current Japanese 10-percent tariff on shelled peanuts inside the 75,000 MT Tariff Rate Quata, the largest category of US peanut exports into that market, will be eliminated immediately upon TPP implementation.

The deal compels Vietnam to open up to labor unions while Malaysia must bolster its efforts to ebb the glut of human trafficking in the country.

The participant states of the TPP comprise Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, America and Vietnam and account for a few 40% of the worldwide market.

Last month, U.S. presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton came out against the TPP, saying she was not in favour of what she had learned about it. She joins rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination, Martin O’Malley and Bernie Sanders in her stance against the deal.

South Korea has expressed its interest in joining the TPP.