MELBOURNE: The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) would deliver new levels of market access for Australian goods and services.
“It will also address areas of e-commerce and intellectual property and further enhance access to all-important global value chains including the small and medium enterprises,” said Australia’s Trade and Investment Minister, Andrew Robb.
In a statement yesterday, Robb said the TPPA would bring enormous promise and an imminent conclusion was within reach but the window was closing due to domestic political factors in countries including the US.
“There are unresolved issues but hopefully these aren’t intractable.
We have taken provisional decisions on perhaps 90 per cent of issues and Australia will see some material benefits,” Robb said.
Robb said as the world’s largest regional trade deal, the TPPA would result in a more seamless trade and investment environment across countries responsible for 40 per cent of global gross domestic product.
“Common sets of trading rules and standards across member countries will greatly reduce business costs, promoting growth and job creation.
“A successful conclusion will represent a major step towards creating a free trade area across the Asia-Pacific,” he said.
Robb departs today for Atlanta, Georgia in US for TPPA talks.
He will attend the TPPA negotiations with his ministerial counterparts from 11 other countries from Sept 30th to Oct 1st.
The TPP is being negotiated among Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, New Zealand, Singapore, US and Vietnam. — Bernama