President Obama & the Trans-Pacific Partnership. - US-Global
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Transcript President Obama & the Trans-Pacific Partnership. - US-Global
Trans-Pacific Partnership
PRESIDENT OBAMA’S APPROACH TO
ASIA-PACIFIC
Betsy Barrientos
March 5, 2012
Agenda
2
TPP Overview
TPP Components
President Obama’s Approach
U.S. National Interests
Commonwealth of Virginia
Potential Impediments to the Agreement
Policy Analysis
Q&A
Overview
3
TPP Origins
Into force in 2006
Trade liberalization in the Asia Pacific Region
Original signatories: Brunei, Chile, New Zealand and
Singapore
Overview
4
Original
Brunei, Chile, Singapore,
NZ
In Negotiation
Australia, Malaysia,
Peru, Vietnam, USA
Potential Members
Canada, Japan, Mexico
Overview
5
Notably missing:
China
Overview
6
Geographically diverse
Comprehensive trade agreement
Elimination of all tariffs among all countries by 2017
(99% with Brunei)
Negative list for Services and Investments - unless
specifically mentioned, a category is assumed to be
covered by the agreement
Overview
7
Includes:
sanitary and phytosanitary standards
technical barriers to trade
competition policy
IPR
government procurement
environmental and labor standards
President Obama’s Approach
8
“America’s first Pacific President”
- November 2009
“... the Asia Pacific region is key to achieving my goal
of doubling U.S. exports and creating new jobs."
- November 2011
Increase engagement in all aspects of its relations
with countries in the region
President Obama’s Approach
9
Strategic alliances with
Philippines and Australia
Clinton’s visit to Myanmar
Conditional food aid to
North Korea
President Obama’s 10-day
trip to Asia
TPP main trade objective of
the Administration
TPP Agreement:
U.S. Policy Objectives and Interests
10
Expand and increase trade
Shape economic interactions in the region
Positive engagement and commitment to Asia
Catalyst for other Asian Pacific countries to join the
TPP agreement
Trans-Pacific integration vs. intra-Asian integration
Specific Areas of U.S. National Interests
11
Agriculture
increase regulatory coherence, eliminate redundancies in
testing and certification of food and animal and plant health
Manufacturing
linkages to supply chains across the region
Intellectual Property Rights
Follow TRIPS; trademarks, copyrights, patents, trade secrets,
etc
Green growth and e-commerce
illegal subsidies to fisheries, illegal wildlife trade
taxing of electronic transactions, authentication of online
transactions, consumer protection
Concerns for the Commonwealth of Virginia
12
Tobacco
leaf and products not included as part of
the agreement
no protection or incentives for this sector
industry might be at a disadvantage as it has limited
access to a global market
Risks
13
Regional agreement undermines WTO and Doha
Round
Trade diversion: lower tariffs of an agreement causes
trade to be diverted away from a more efficient
producer outside the bloc
“Spaghetti bowl” effect: overlapping and inconsistent
FTAs
Impediments
14
Potential Impediments
15
Agriculture
New Zealand’s dairy products could have improved
access to US market
Japan’s politics and government policies relating to
agriculture (rice).
Potential Impediments - Con’t
16
Intellectual Property
Inconsistent policies among countries
Copyright and patent terms that adhere to US
standards, e.g. endless copyright terms
Strong emphasis on pharma and multi-media
Elimination of parallel trade on copyrighted
materials
Potential Impediments - Con’t
17
Access to Medicine
Seize shipments of drugs on suspicion on IP
infringement and to increase damages from IP
infringement
Increase of data exclusivity - prevents existing clinical
trial data to be shared with makers of generic drugs
Increase of duration patent terms - could delay
competition of generic brands
Access to affordable medicine for developing countries
Schemes of subsidized medicine in New Zealand
TPP: Policy Analysis
18
FTAs already signed with most TPP countries; trade
barriers low
Market size of countries small, if considered
individually
Is the TPP an economic agreement?
Yes, for the most part… it has the potential to be much more
TPP: Policy Analysis
19
As an economic agreement, TPP could raise
standards for market access and bridge differences
between American and Asian regions
Potential to represent about 40% of total global trade
AND
Establish a new framework for future FTAs
Enable “presence” in the region and thus influence
economic and strategic initiatives
TPP: Policy Analysis
20
Intellectual Property
TRIPS+ may not be suitable for all TPP countries
Undermine alternative IP standards
Potential to negatively affect health sector in some
countries
TPP: Policy Analysis
21
As an alternative, US could update IP and copyright
laws and engage in patent reforms
IP and copyright laws set in the 1970s
Guidance and consultation from additional
industries, other than pharmaceutical and recorded
media.
TPP: Policy Analysis
22
Also consider the challenges of the following:
President Obama may seek trade promotion
authority (TPA)
For Asia, TPP is not the only option to increase trade
ASEAN +3, bilateral agreements
If TPP agreement fails, U.S. could see its position
weakened in the region
23
QUESTIONS?