Following the withdrawal of the U.S. in January, the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement looked dead in the water. Yet with talks among the 11 remaining nations restarting in Japan and Vietnam, could a revised TPP leave the door open for Taiwan to join?
The News Lens
Date: 2017/11/08
By: Adam Hatch
The 11 remaining nations involved in Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations met last
Credit: AP / 達志影像
week in Japan to discuss the possibility of launching the agreement without the United States, but eventual Taiwanese involvement is still a slim possibility.
What is the TPP?
The Trans-Pacific Partnership, known as the TPP, is a large, multinational trade agreement intended to lower trade barriers and open markets for its signatories. Similar in structure to North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between the U.S., Canada and Mexico, the agreement promises economic benefits for member nations and, at least before the United States’ withdrawal, a mechanism for counterbalancing Chinese influence in the Asia-Pacific.
The U.S. withdrew from the proposed trade bloc in January, leaving Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam to continue negotiations. [FULL STORY]
