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Added on the 08/10/2015 09:34:19 - Copyright : Reuters EN
United States President Barack Obama spoke about the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Vientiane on Wednesday. In his last trip to Asia as US President, Obama encouraged free trade agreements between nations. Both Democratic and Republican presidential nominees Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have voiced their opposition to the TTP agreement.
U.S. President Barack Obama uses his weekly address to tout the benefits of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal. Rough cut (no reporter narration)
Trade ministers from 12 countries announced the largest free trade deal in a generation on Monday in Atlanta. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal started with an agreement signed in 2006 between Brunei, Chile, New Zealand and Singapore.It then expanded to 12 countries, including the US and Japan, which have a population of about 800 million and are responsible for 40% of world trade, BBC reported. The agreement will impact a vast array of business sectors including agriculture, automotive, pharmaceuticals and environmental.According to the Guardian, besides eliminating or reducing over 98 percent of tariffs across a range of sectors, it will also allow foreign companies to sue governments if they feel their profits are affected.For instance, a tobacco company such as the Philips Morris would be able to sue a country for unappealing or image-damaging packaging.Critics of the trade deal say that negotiations have been dealt mostly in secret and that it gives corporations too much power.Agriculture also proved to be another sticking point with countries like New Zealand wanting more access to markets in Canada, Mexico, Japan and the United States.
Trans-Pacific Partnership talks in Maui end without a deal, with the decline of the sugar industry in the U.S. and Japan one of the obstacles. Sean Carberry reports.
Trans-Pacific Partnership talks in Maui end without a deal, with the decline of the sugar industry in the U.S. and Japan one of the obstacles. Sean Carberry reports.