TPP Hanoi Discussions

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September 8, 2014

    Members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) met at a conference in Hanoi from September 1-10, 2014, but onlookers are still weary regarding the members’ ability to come to a deal before the Obama’s November 2014 deadline.  TPP includes the United States, Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam.  The Office of the United States Trade Representation states that upon completion, the agreement “will unlock opportunities for American workers, families, businesses, farmers, and ranchers by providing increased access to some of the fastest growing markets in the world.”  

    While the member nations are attempting to resolve their disputes, there may not be sufficient progress made before the November deadline.  The members have been urged to state their objections and submit proposals during the meetings to set the framework for future agreements to resolve the conflict versus returning to their nations and then submitting complaints.  Discussion groups have been asked to continue to update other members on their progress.  Some working groups seem to have little progress, such as the textile disagreement between the United States and Vietnam over the regulations for declaring country of origin for the textile products.  

    One of the hurdles coming from this conference is Vietnam’s demands for its state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to be exempt from regulations that the United States hopes will stop the unfair advantage from governments who subsidize businesses.  This also stems from the TPP meeting in Ottawa this past July, where Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei also requested exemptions.  A definition will also need to be constructed to define what constitutes an SOE, such how large must a business be to be considered a SOE.  While members of the TPP may allow SOE exceptions, Vietnam’s request may be too extensive and all encompassing.

    Ambassador Hiroshi Oe of Japan attended the conference to inform other members of the progress concerning the United States and Japan’s negotiations over their agricultural markets.  The Ambassador left the conference several days before its completion to continue discussions with the Acting Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Wendy Cutler and Chief Agriculture Negotiator Darci Vetter.

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