TPP Debate Ramps Up Following Public Release of Trade Deal Text

The text of the 12-country Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement was publicly released late last week, prompting intense scrutiny as stakeholders attempt to understand the deal’s implications, both for TPP countries themselves as well as for the global economy.

The TPP negotiations were concluded last month in the US city of Atlanta; however, the text then needed to undergo a legal scrub before it could be released to the public. The chapters all include headings noting that these are still subject to legal review and authentication in the three official TPP languages – English, Spanish, and French. (See Bridges Weekly, 8 October 2015)

The deal’s membership currently makes up 40 percent of global GDP, and should the deal enter into force would be a game-changer for international trade, with proponents such as US President Barack Obamareferring to it as last week as the “highest standard trade agreement in history.”

The agreement has also drawn significant criticism and controversy from other quarters, however, given that it covers many areas that are not traditionally included in trade deals – setting the stage for heated debate in the months ahead.

The text released last week includes 30 chapters, as well as various annexes, schedules, and hundreds of “side letters” signed bilaterally by the parties, altogether numbering thousands of pages.

The chapters cover a broad range of issues, including but not limited to national treatment and market access; rules of origin and origin procedures; textiles and apparel; sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures; technical barriers to trade (TBT); investment; cross-border trade in services; financial services; temporary entry for business persons; telecommunications; e-commerce; government procurement; competition; state-owned enterprises; intellectual property; labour; environment; and dispute settlement.

Unpacking and understanding the complex agreement is widely expected to be an immensely difficult task; however, some of the chapters already drawing much scrutiny and commentary include those on labour, investment, exceptions, and environment, along with some of the bilateral deals reached among parties and a separate joint declaration on currency. (Editor’s note: A detailed analysis of the TPP environment chapter can be found under the BioRes publication, also by ICTSD.)