TPP11 - Do Not Resuscitate the TPP!

[Oscar]

As TPP11 countries meet in Chile, Council of Canadians and 200+ groups say: Do Not Resuscitate the TPP

[ http://canadians.org/media/tpp11-countr ... citate-tpp ]

Media Release March 14, 2017

As trade ministers from across the Pacific Rim prepare to discuss the future of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in Chile today and tomorrow, the Council of Canadians along with more than 200 organizations representing citizens across the Pacific Rim urged their governments to reject the TPP. [ http://www.citizen.org/documents/Chile- ... Letter.pdf ] This trade model has failed, and a more open and democratic process is needed to develop genuine alternatives that confront the economic, social and environmental challenges of the 21st century.

“Deals like the TPP never truly die. Their destructive nature – killing jobs and the environment – lives on in other forms,” said Maude Barlow, National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians. “Even without the U.S., other countries are trying to revive the dubious legacy of the TPP. It’s time they got the message: People are tired of these agreements, and we must do better.”

When Donald Trump gave official notice of the U.S. withdrawal from the TPP process, he acknowledged the obvious: that the deal died under the weight of its own terms and could not achieve sufficient support in the U.S. Congress to be ratified. Civil society organizations from all the TPP countries had campaigned for years against the deal – delaying its conclusion past the 2012 deadline and ultimately leading to its demise.

Now that the TPP is dead, the 200 organizations – including international organizations such as the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and Friends of the Earth International, as well scores of national organizations from Australia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, South Korea, United States and Vietnam – believe that citizens are better off without the TPP. The groups urged their trade ministers to resist any attempt to revive the TPP or insert its rules into future trade negotiations, whether bilateral, regional or multilateral.

“Thousands of Canadians have been consulted, and 95 per cent of them say that they don’t want this deal no matter what. No amount of rebranding will change that,” said Sujata Dey, Trade Campaigner for the Council of Canadians. “That means they don’t want the original TPP, they don’t want a repackaged TPP with 11 countries, and they certainly don’t want to bring the worst of the TPP into NAFTA. Our trade minister has to uphold the government’s promise to consult and listen to Canadians. It is time to show leadership and pull the plug.”

Read the full letter and list of organizational signatories:
[ http://www.citizen.org/documents/Chile- ... Letter.pdf ]

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[Oscar]

To call on the Trudeau government to immediately withdraw from the TPP, please respond to our online action alert:
[ https://secure.canadians.org/ea-action/ ... n.id=65139 ]

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Trudeau government at trade meeting challenged by street protests

[ http://canadians.org/blog/trudeau-gover ... t-protests ]

March 15, 2017 - 3:49 pm

The Trudeau government was at a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) summit in Chile yesterday that was met with protests and arrests.

The Associated Press reports, "Representatives from countries that signed the failed TPP began meeting Tuesday [March 14] to discuss a possible new regional trade deal. Senior officials from the 12 countries of the TPP, plus China, Colombia and South Korea, gathered in the seaside resort city of Vina del Mar. It's the first time the nations have met since President Donald Trump withdrew from the US from the deal. Chilean Foreign Minister Heraldo Munoz said the Asia-Pacific meeting is an opportunity to send a strong signal for free trade and against protectionism."

Canada's trade minister François-Philippe Champagne was at this meeting.

Press TV highlights, "Police clashed with protesters and arrested at least 15 of them as they marched through the streets [to the Sheraton Miramar Hotel where the ministers were meeting]. Police officers attempted to block the protesters from approaching the meeting venue and deployed water cannons to disperse the crowd of activists, who were carrying placards reading, 'The TPP threatens human rights'."

That report also notes, "While officials attending the meeting said the conversation was just the beginning of a long and uncertain road, some possibilities being contemplated included redesigning it without the US [the so-called TPP 11 model] or building instead on the proposed Southeast Asian-backed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership [RCEP, which is being led by China]."

In terms of timelines, Reuters reports, "[New Zealand Trade Minister Todd] McClay expressed optimism that 'there is life still in the TPP' and said he expects the signatory countries to clarify a way ahead 'in a few months'."

To call on the Trudeau government to immediately withdraw from the TPP, please respond to our online action alert:
[ https://secure.canadians.org/ea-action/ ... n.id=65139 ]

#StopTPP

Brent Patterson's blog
Political Director of the Council of Canadians
[ http://canadians.org/blogs/brent-patterson ]

[Oscar]

Think the RCEP is about free trade? Think again

[ http://asia.nikkei.com/magazine/2017042 ... hink-again ]

April 27, 2017 10:00 am JST YASU OTA, Nikkei Asian Review columnist

Beijing-led pact is aimed at saving China's own economy via the Belt and Road

EXCERPT:

Some of the remaining TPP members are trying to start negotiations on a so-called TPP 11. On April 19, Japanese Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso said discussions on putting the deal into effect without the world's largest economy will begin in May on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting.

There are reasons for Japan to promote transparent, high-level trade deals like a possible TPP 11. The Abe cabinet has been trying to expand exports of infrastructure technologies amid fierce competition with China over high-speed railway projects in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Japanese businesses are reluctant to answer the government's "All Japan" call because they cannot compete against Chinese rivals who are able to undercut them by pricing their projects at a loss.

Should Japan and the U.S. lose their standing as leaders in global trade, the door would be open for China to set the agenda on trade rules.

Just what that agenda is seems clear. Through the RCEP, China is aiming to make ambiguous trade rules the global standard. So far, there have been no signs of serious discussion regarding such areas as e-commerce, state-owned enterprises, the environment and labor standards. China, which is leading the negotiations, has little use for rules in these areas. The focus of its trade policy, after all, is on traditional exporters -- steel and cement, for example -- not on the industries of tomorrow.

For the government of a sprawling nation saddled with an aging industrial model, laying the groundwork for stable global growth takes a back seat to propping up its own economy. In the end, the RCEP is nothing more than a contrivance aimed at creating massive overseas demand for Chinese companies.

U.S. National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster visited Pakistan on April 17 for talks with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and military leaders. He was the first senior official of Trump's administration to visit the country, but his trip was not announced ahead of time. Washington is apparently becoming nervous about China's growing influence over Pakistan, but it may be too late for the U.S. to rekindle its commitment to South Asia.