Yesterday, I reported that US farmers and the Republican Party are pressuring President Donald Trump to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) – dubbed by MB as TPP 2.0.
In the article, I argued that TPP 2.0 looked better than the original because it appeared to have watered down some of the more pernicious clauses around intellectual property and investor-state dispute settlement, which were included in the original text at the US’ behest. However, I was concerned that the US might try to reintroduce these clauses in exchange for its participation in the new pact.
Thankfully, the Japanese have suggested that the text of TPP 2.0 would be very difficult to change. From The AFR:
Japan welcomes a positive stance by the United States toward an Asia-Pacific trade pact, but indicated that altering the agreement at this point would be very difficult.
Japan’s chief negotiator for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), Kazuyoshi Umemoto, told Reuters that an agreement among the remaining 11 member nations, set to be signed next month, may have had an impact on the United States…
The final text of the revised TPP, now called Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement For Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), is expected to be published on Wednesday.
This is good news. However, the Productivity Commission still needs to examine TPP 2.0 for its economy-wide impacts before it is ratified by the Australian Parliament.
