On November 10, 2017, Trade Ministers from the eleven remaining Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) countries (minus the United States) announced that they had reached an agreement on “core elements” of the renegotiated agreement. The remaining eleven nations – Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam – are now in the process of renegotiating the agreement without the United States. Trade Ministers reached this “framework for a new Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership” (CPTPP) at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Trade Ministerial Meeting, which was held in Danang, Vietnam.
The Ministers “agreed to Annex I and II which incorporates provisions of the TPP, with the exception of a limited set of provisions which will be suspended. This text also incorporates a list of four specific items for which substantial progress was made but consensus must be achieved prior to signing.” The Ministers gave assurances “that the CPTPP maintains the high standards, overall balance, and integrity of the TPP while ensuring the commercial and other interests of all participants and preserving our inherent right to regulate, including the flexibility of the Parties to set legislative and regulatory priorities.”
TPP negotiations began in 2008 with the aim of providing economic integration across the twelve countries bordering the Pacific Ocean, and the TPP was signed in February 2016. President Trump officially withdrew the United States from the Agreement just days after entering office in January 2017, however, stating “it is the intention of my Administration to deal directly with individual countries on a one-on-one (or bilateral) basis in negotiating future trade deals.”
The United States’ withdrawal has affected the text of the CPTPP in several ways. For example, significant suspensions have been made to the chapter on Intellectual Property, a section that the United States had prioritized during negotiations. The framework suspends the Legal Remedies and Safe Harbours that proscribed certain actions be taken by Internet Service Providers to protect against copyright infringement.
With the Trump Administration in the midst of renegotiating NAFTA, many believe the CPTPP provides Canada and Mexico with greater leverage over the NAFTA negotiations. In particular, rules of origin for automobile trade remains a contested issue under NAFTA, with Canada and Mexico expected to push back against the United States’ call for stricter requirements. With the revised TPP containing less restrictive rules for automobiles, Canada and Mexico may have additional negotiating power with the backing of the CPTPP and the remaining eleven TPP countries.
