Unit 2: Transpacific Partnership and free trade
Trans-Pacific Partnership is a trade accord between twelve countries on the Pacific Rim. It aims at creating greater economic connections and new opportunities for its signatories.
TPP benefits include greater access to new markets, lower tariffs on services and goods, easier investment rules and cross-border mobility of goods. TPP promotes labor rights and environmental protection standards across all participating countries. It also encourages government procurement rules, intellectual property protections, as well as protections for workers. This can protect companies from unfair competition and allow them to seize new opportunities for growth by expanding their reach into more regional markets.
There are potential drawbacks, such as concerns about job loss due to increased international competition and fears that certain nations might gain more than others. Critics also fear that changes to the agreement may result in lower wages and weaker labor regulations, which might be more detrimental for workers from lower-income countries than higher income ones. There are also worries about how much power will be consolidated in “big business” corporations with regards to setting policies for certain sectors as well as efforts by governments towards further liberalization through ISDS provisions incorporated into the agreement.