SELA ORGANIZED SEMINAR ON THE TPP AND ITS IMPACT ON LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) is a plurilateral economic integration agreement comprising twelve (12) countries located in the Pacific Basin, namely: Australia, United States, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

The TPP aims at the creation of a strong integration platform in the Asia-Pacific region that boosts the trade and economic dynamism of its member countries. Its pioneering and innovative structure leads to the establishment of a new order in the signing of trade agreements that go beyond tariff negotiations and include complementary areas for the integration of signatory countries.

At present, the member countries of the TPP cover a market of 800 million people, almost 40% of the world gross domestic product and 23% of global exports, turning the Pacific Rim into the most economically dynamic region.

The TPP has been considered an Agreement of the 21st Century, because its 30 chapters address not only commercial aspects, but also other topics that have become relevant in the dynamic of modern international trade. In this connection, it includes a set of provisions not incorporated in any other agreement signed so far, namely: anti-corruption provisions, government procurement, climate change, special treatment to small and medium-sized enterprises, corporate social responsibility, and e-commerce.

Negotiations for the signing of this agreement began in Mexico during the 2002 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum, where representatives of Chile, New Zealand and Singapore expressed their interest in forming a free trade agreement that would enable these three nations to advance towards their economic liberalization well beyond trade barriers and would include intellectual property, rules of origin and government procurement issues. After these negotiations, the rest of countries gradually manifested their interest in joining its membership until the signing of the agreement in February 2016.

In order to evaluate the characteristics and structure of the TPP, the Permanent Secretariat of SELA organized, with the collaboration of the Getulio Vargas Foundation of Brazil, the “Regional Seminar: The Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement (TPP) and its impact on international trade of Latin American and Caribbean countries” , which took place in São Paulo, Brazil, on 25 August 2016. The Seminar took into account the perspective of some countries that participate in this agreement, as well as the vision of other nations in the region, and discussed the different ways in which the TPP can have an impact on regional integration and international insertion strategies.

This event was attended by government representatives responsible for international trade of the Member States of SELA, representatives of regional and international organizations, representatives of the academic sector and experts in the field.