Publication

This commentary describes how after five years of negotiations the trade ministers of twelve Pacific Rim countries, including the United States, Canada and Japan, reached an agreement on a comprehensive Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). If and when the TPP is fully ratified, the text's author reminds us, it will 1) create the largest free trade zone in the world; 2) eliminate virtually all trade tariffs between TPP members; 3) open up domestic markets, particularly in the cases of agriculture and services; 4) set binding minimum standards for trade and investments; and 5) work to the detriment of the EU and China, who were not part of the negotiations.