United States and the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement (TPP)

The Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement (the Trans-Pacific Agreement, formerly known as P4) was signed by New Zealand, Chile and Singapore on 18 July 2005 and by Brunei on 2 August 2005, following the conclusion of negotiations in June 2005. A binding Environment Cooperation Agreement and a binding Labour Cooperation Memorandum of Understanding, which had been negotiated as part of the Trans-Pacific package, were signed concurrently.
On 22 September 2008, comprehensive negotiations for the United States to join the Trans-Pacific Agreement were announced. Australia, Peru and Viet Nam also intend to participate in negotiations. The first round of negotiations was scheduled to take place in March 2009, but has been postponed to allow the US Administration time to conduct a general review of US trade policy.

The original Trans-Pacific Agreement negotiations were launched by Chile, New Zealand and Singapore at the APEC leaders’ summit in 2002. After attending a number of rounds as an observer, Brunei joined the Trans-Pacific Agreement as a “founding member”. It was given some flexibility to implement its commitments in light of its late joining. For example, it was given more time to negotiate its services and government procurement schedules. Negotiations on those schedules took place in 2008, and Brunei completed its ratification process in July 2009.

Following the passage of implementing legislation and regulations in March and April 2006, the Trans-Pacific Agreement entered into force on 1 May 2006 for New Zealand and Singapore. Brunei deposited an instrument of provisional application on 12 May – the Trans-Pacific Agreement provisionally applied to Brunei from 12 June 2006 and came into full force in July 2009. The Agreement entered into force for Chile on 8 November 2006.


On November 14, 2009, President Obama shared the United States' intention to engage with the Trans-Pacific Partnership and other economies in the region in an effort toward regional economic integration in the Asia-Pacific. This effort will be pursued with the goals of increasing American exports in the region and creating good jobs at home, through robust engagement in a region that already represents more than 40 percent of world trade.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership
The Trans-Pacific Partnership is a potential platform for economic integration across the Asia Pacific region. The United States will engage with an initial group of seven like-minded countries, Singapore, Chile, New Zealand, Brunei, Australia, Peru, and Vietnam, to craft a platform for a high-standard, comprehensive agreement - one that reflects U.S. priorities and values - with these and additional Asia-Pacific partners.

American Opportunity in the Asia-Pacific
Over the past four and a half years (1st quarter 2005 to 3rd quarter 2009), trade has remained an important part of the U.S. economy. American goods and services exports to the world accounted for 40 percent of real GDP growth in the United States. The Asia Pacific's robust economies offer huge opportunities to grow U.S. exports, thereby creating and retaining high-quality, high-paying jobs in the United States.
According to the East-West Center, Asia already accounts for 27 percent of total U.S. jobs from exports and employment from exports to Asia grew 12 percent from 2002 to 2006. The International Monetary Fund forecasts that the Asia-Pacific economies will grow faster than the world average through at least 2014. Expanding U.S. exports to the Asia-Pacific region can contribute significantly to further job growth and economic recovery for America's working families.

A Foundation for Success
The huge markets of the Asia Pacific already are key destinations for U.S. manufactured goods, agricultural and services suppliers. U.S. goods exports to the Asia Pacific totaled $747 billion in 2008, up 8.3 percent over 2007, with agricultural products comprising $76 billion in 2008 - a 30-percent increase over the previous year. U.S. services exports totaled $186.5 billion in 2008, up 7.7 percent over 2007. America's small- and medium-sized enterprises alone exported $173 billion to the Asia-Pacific in 2008.
Jobs supported by goods exports - the kinds of jobs that engagement in the Asia-Pacific can help to grow - pay 13-18 percent higher than the national average. A 2008 University of Michigan study estimates that an Asia-Pacific trade agreement would increase real U.S. income by 1.2 percent.

American Competitiveness in the Asia-Pacific
Engagement with the Trans-Pacific Partnership can help America ensure its share of the job-creating economic opportunities this region has to offer. While U.S. exports to the Asia-Pacific increased by 63 percent during the past five years, our share of trade in the region has declined by three percent in favor of U.S. competitors. Asia-Pacific countries have negotiated bilateral trade agreements and regional agreements, including ASEAN + 3 (Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, and Burma plus China, Japan, and Korea) and ASEAN + 6 (ASEAN plus China, Japan, Korea, India, Australia, New Zealand).
A 2001 study by Robert Scollay forecasts that America could lose as much as $25 billion in exports annually solely from the static discriminatory effects of an East Asia Free Trade Area excluding the United States.