RESOLUTION ON SIGNING TPP ISSUED

October 5, 2015 marked a historical milestone for the 12 TPP countries as their trade ministers reached final consensus on the world’s largest free trade agreement after more than five years of negotiations.

The TPP is a multi-lateral free trade agreement that involves not only goods and services but also non-trade affairs.

Once it comes into effect, it will delineate the world’s largest free trade area with a population of 800 million people, representing about 40% of the global gross domestic product and 30% of the global trade turnover, evidence of the agreement’s massive potential impact on the global economy and each member economy.

Reaching this consensus is quite an accomplishment, as the agreement comprises high standards, with numerous ambitions for trade, technology, intellectual property, labor and the environment. Notably, the TPP will help remove tariff barriers while facilitating investment flows among the 12 member states.

In the next 10 years, the agreement is expected to increase the global GDP by 1% each year.

Once ratified by member country parliaments, the newly-reached Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement will open up a new road to the future of cooperation and integration in the region, which requires each member to improve itself to greet both opportunities and their coupled challenges.

Source: VGP