Pacific trade deal could be two weeks away if US fast-track measure passes
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Version 0 of 1. The US Congress could soon pass legislation to fast-track the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which may result in the 12-nation trade deal being passed within a fortnight. President Barack Obama needs the Trade Promotion Authority to fast-track trade talks between TPP nations, which account for nearly 40% of the global economy. Australia is one of those nations. Trade Promotion Authority would give the president the power to negotiate an agreement that Congress would then be able to approve or block, but not amend. In a surprising development, the president has the support of his Republican opponents in granting the authority, but faces opposition from Democrats. A procedural vote on the Trade Promotion Authority was narrowly blocked in the Senate by Democrats last week, despite Obama making it one the centrepieces of his presidency. The head of the Influential Ways and Means Committee, Republican Paul Ryan, said Obama now has the congressional votes to win the debate, with US Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell saying that would happen by the end of this week. “These sorts of sentiments are now starting to pervade the hill in Washington, and if that’s true it would pave the way to possibly conclude negotiations by all 12 countries in the following fortnight,” the Australian trade minister, Andrew Robb, told ABC Radio on Monday. Passing the authority legislation would give the other 11 signatory countries confidence, the trade minister said, adding that failing to pass the legislation soon will stall the TPP’s progress. “I think there’d be one window in June [to pass the legislation] from what I understand, but every month that goes by the more the chance is of this issue becoming even more politicised in the United States as they head towards the next presidential election,” Robb said. Very little is known about the content of the secretive trade deal and it is, from the American perspective, a way of extending the US’s influence in Asia. Formal negotiations on the deal began in 2010, and it is believed to contain clauses allowing companies and investors to take legal action against signatory states. The investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) provisions would allow for more litigation against domestic law by multinationals, similar to that undertaken by tobacco companies against the Australian government over claims their copyright was breached by plain packaging for cigarettes. Labor does not support ISDS provisions, but has stopped short of saying their inclusion in the TPP would be a deal-breaker for passing domestic laws. “Labor will assess any TPP agreement once it has been finalised and all the details have been publicly released,” a spokewoman for shadow trade minister Penny Wong said. The government has indicated in the past it will consider including ISDS provisions in trade agreements on a case-by-case basis. “We would remind Labor that they have previously concluded trade deals which contained ISDS provisions on the basis that they provide some levels of assurance for Australian investors in those markets that perhaps have unreliable legal systems,” a spokesman for Robb told Guardian Australia. “Labor ultimately supported the Korean and Chinese free trade agreements which did include ISDS provisions.” “If agreements like TPP produce positive benefits in terms of growth, job creation and living standards we would hope Labor sees fit to provide bipartisan support. Trade agreements such as TPP undergo parliamentary inquiry by the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties prior to ratification,” the spokesman said. The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry wants ISDS clauses to stay, arguing they exist in trade agreements between Australia and more than half of the Pacific rim countries currently negotiating the TPP. “ISDS provisions are a long-standing feature of trade agreements and support Australian firms by ensuring they can protect their financial interests from interference due to unpredictable government decisions when they are engaged in foreign markets,” the chief executive officer, Kate Carnell, said. Trade ministers involved in TPP talks will meet next week to continue negotiations. |