The TPP

The Trans-Pacific Parntership or TPP is a trade agreement between various South Asian countries bordering the Pacific including the United States, Mexico, Chile, New Zealand, Japan, etc. The agreement is to increase free trade and general economic relations between these countries.

As a more specific goal, the deal was meant to, according to the Obama Administration, "promote economic growth; support the creation and retention of jobs; enhance innovation, productivity and competitiveness; raise living standards; reduce poverty in the signatories' countries; and promote transparency, good governance, and enhanced labor and environmental protections."

The deal began as an expansion of the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement as other countries began to join into the deal. Other deals like the North American Free Trade Agreement between Canada, Mexico, and the United States were revised to accommodate the TPP. The United States, in general, believes that this deal is similar to others such as their trade conditions with the European Union.

As with any economic policy, negotiations have and were prolonged due to various contentious issues. The completion of those negotiations was supposed to be 2012, but the final agreement was created in 2015.

Areas of contention were far and wide, but mostly focused on two main areas of disagreement which were intellectual property along with agriculture. That is, many, especially Australia, found the United States imposition of intellectual property laws regarding copyright were constraining and disavowed them. Moreover, there were disagreements between Japan and the United States on their respective high tariff continuation on agriculture and auto-parts. Both were eventually solved through political compromise. However, many still fear that the United States gains too much influence over these countries through the deal.

However, the TPP, essentially is advocating for an expansion of free trade that is seen through NAFTA. While many, including the Obama Administration, supported the United states involvement in the organization, others disagreed. For instance, institutions like the U.S. International Trade Commission and the World Bank have studied the deal and concluded that it would be a net benefit to all countries, while other economists such as those from Tufts University have disagreed.

This disagreement has manifested into a pulling-out of the deal by President Trump earlier this year. Like these economists and the Obama and Trump administration, free trade continues to be a contentious issue with no right or wrong answer.