What is the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP)?

The Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a free trade agreement between twelve countries in the Asia-Pacific region including the United States, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. The agreement was first proposed in 2006 and was signed by all twelve parties in February 2016. The agreement was intended to promote economic growth by reducing tariffs and other trade barriers, increasing trade opportunities, and expanding access to foreign markets in the Asia-Pacific region. The TPP was the largest free trade agreement in history, covering nearly 40% of global gross domestic product. The agreement was designed to create more efficient global supply chains by removing trade barriers and reducing the cost of doing business across borders. Additionally, the TPP created the world’s largest free trade agreement for the digital economy, with the goal of protecting intellectual property rights and promoting the growth of the digital economy. The TPP was expected to create hundreds of thousands of new jobs, spur economic growth, and promote innovation, but it was never ratified due to concerns about the lack of transparency in the negotiations and the potential effects of lower labor and environmental standards on workers in all twelve countries. The Trans Pacific Partnership remains a significant economic agreement in the Asia-Pacific region, as several of the countries involved in the agreement have since negotiated regional free trade agreements.

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