The biggest trade deal in history was signed yesterday, yoking 12 Pacific rim countries in a US-led initiative aimed at wresting influence from booming China.
The ambitious Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) aims to slash tariffs and trade barriers for an enormous 40 percent of the global economy — but pointedly does not include Beijing.
“TPP allows America — and not countries like China — to write the rules of the road in the 21st century,” US President Barack Obama said after the pact was signed in New Zealand.
Photo: AFP
The deal — whose birth was fraught by domestic opposition in the US and in other key players, such as Japan — is a key plank of Obama’s so-called “pivot” to Asia, as he seeks to counter the rising power of China.
Along with a rebalancing of the US military machine toward the western Pacific, the TPP is recognition of the growing might of China, which has come to dominate the region, threatening US influence.
Supporters of the deal say harnessing the power of free trade in such a dynamic part of the world is vital if the US is to fend off China’s challenge to its supremacy.
Trade ministers from 12 participating countries — Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the US and Vietnam — signed the pact in Auckland early yesterday.
Beijing was muted in its reaction to the deal, saying its officials were studying the 6,000-page document.
China’s Ministry of Commerce statement said Beijing would “actively participate in and facilitate highly transparent, open and inclusive free-trade arrangements in the region.”
Despite Obama’s comments, the US has also sought to play down any overt anti-China rhetoric.
US Trade Representative Michael Froman said the agreement was “never directed against” any specific country and “it’s important to have a constructive economic relationship” with China.
Although the signing marks the end of the negotiating process, member states still have two years to get the deal approved at home before it becomes legally binding.
“We will encourage all countries to complete their domestic ratification processes as quickly as possible,” New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said. “TPP will provide much better access for goods and services to more than 800 million people across the TPP countries, which make up 36 percent of global GDP.”
However, ratification may prove far from easy, notably in the US, where poisonous election-year politics are likely to stymie co-operation over a deal opponents have spun as a job killer.
In Japan — the second-biggest economy in the bloc — mainstream politicians and economists have generally supported the TPP as positive for Tokyo’s export-driven growth, despite concerns over its impact on its prized agriculture industry.
The Canadian government, which has changed since the deal was negotiated, signed up yesterday, but has yet to decide whether to go through with ratification.
Tropical Storm Gaemi strengthened into a typhoon at 2pm yesterday, and could make landfall in Yilan County tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The agency was scheduled to issue a sea warning at 11:30pm yesterday, and could issue a land warning later today. Gaemi was moving north-northwest at 4kph, carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of up to 118.8kph and gusts of 154.8kph. The circumference is forecast to reach eastern Taiwan tomorrow morning, with the center making landfall in Yilan County later that night before departing from the north coast, CWA weather forecaster Kuan Shin-ping (官欣平) said yesterday. Uncertainty remains and
SEA WARNING LIKELY: The storm, named Gaemi, could become a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, with the Taipei City Government preparing for flooding A tropical depression east of the Philippines developed into a tropical storm named Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, and was moving toward eastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Gaemi could begin to affect Taiwan proper on Tuesday, lasting until Friday, and could develop into a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, it said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued as early as Tuesday morning, it added. Gaemi, the third tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean this typhoon season, is projected to begin moving northwest today, and be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday, the agency said. Today, there would likely
DISRUPTIONS: The high-speed rail is to operate as normal, while several airlines either canceled flights or announced early departures or late arrivals Schools and offices in 15 cities and counties are to be closed today due to Typhoon Gaemi, local governments announced last night. The 15 are: Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Tainan, Keelung, Hsinchu and Kaohsiung, as well as Yilan, Hualien, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang counties. People should brace for torrential rainfall brought by the storm, with its center forecast to make landfall on the east coast between tonight and tomorrow morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The agency issued a sea warning for the typhoon at 11:30pm on Monday, followed by a land warning at 11:30am yesterday. As of
CASUALTY: A 70-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree in Kaohsiung as the premier warned all government agencies to remain on high alert for the next 24 hours Schools and offices nationwide are to be closed for a second day today as Typhoon Gaemi crosses over the nation, bringing torrential rain and whipping winds. Gaemi was forecast to make landfall late last night. From Tuesday night, its outer band brought substantial rainfall and strong winds to the nation. As of 6:15pm last night, the typhoon’s center was 20km southeast of Hualien County, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. It was moving at 19kph and had a radius of 250km. As of 3pm yesterday, one woman had died, while 58 people were injured, the Central Emergency Operation Center said. The 70-year-old