Regional Trade Agreements: Trans-Pacific Partnership

Regional Trade Agreement has become increasingly prevalent since the early 1990s. And till January 2012, the GATT had received 511 notifications of regional trade agreement where 319 were in force. The main purpose is to increase exports even though it can have positive or negative effects on trade depending on their design and implementation. For Regional Trade Agreement, the most important ingredient for success is a low trade barrier with all global partners.

The Trans- Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a multi-national trade agreement that threatens to extend restrictive intellectual property laws across the globe and rewrite international rules on its enforcement. The Trans- Pacific partnership started in 2005 with four countries that are New Zealand, Singapore, Chile and Brunei. In 2007, there was a expanded version of the agreement with a larger group of countries.  It is a comprehensive trade agreement, affecting trade in goods, trade remedies, technical barriers to trade, intellectual property and trade in service. It is called for reduction by 90 percent of all tariffs between member countries by January 1, 2006 and reduction of all trade tariffs to zero by the year 2015. This regional trade agreement is very valuable for the developing countries as it aims to free trade deal with increase flow of goods and services across the world.

The TPP will encompass far more than trade, rewriting many domestic laws, intellectual property rights, and investment and environment protection throughout the region. It also permits private foreign companies to sue sovereign countries on grounds of restriction of trade by supporting greater investor to state litigation.

The TPP misrepresents the potential of free trade as it encourages through greater international regulations.

Retrieved from:

http://www.coha.org/the-trans-pacific-partnership-free-trade-at-what-costs/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNQffQ7Npi0