KUALA LUMPUR: The Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, which is still being negotiated between 12 countries including Malaysia is currently in a critical phase, said US Trade Representative Michael Froman.
Negotiations, which will resume next week, will involve tough decisions bilaterally and for all 12.
“There has been significant progress with Japan on market access issues on auto and agriculture or other countries bilaterally to work through outstanding issues for a swift and successful conclusion,” he said, in a seminar organised by Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS).
Froman stressed there is no particular deadline for the talks to draw to a close, but it will be ` as soon as possible’ consistent with the high standards set out.
It has been five years since the TPP negotiations commenced and now has bulged to include Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, US and Vietnam.
“It is not something we are rushing into. We are in the end game and 12 countries worked very hard through the issues and now down to a reasonable number of outstanding issues.”
Froman, who has been in Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya for six times since the TPP was launched, said the discussions are not all altruistic as the topics are all in mutual interest which towards high standards, strong economies, strong institutions and strong capacity building across the region.
Contrary to public criticism about the secrecy of the talks, Froman described the TPP as most transparent and most interactive in all the trade pacts he has been involved in.
In the case of the US, the TPP negotiators have held 1,700 briefings with the Congress, the lawmakers.
“Recently they asked for the document to be deposited on Capitol Hill, and that they be allowed to bring a staff member of them (to scrutinise the text) and they also want to see the positions of other countries and we accommodated all the requests.”
All the proposals brought to the table are previewed with the US Senate Ways and Means Committee and Finance Committee.
“We have 600 clear devices and they represent from big and small businesses, trade unions, public health, agriculture to consumer rights and they get to see our proposals and they get regular updates and we have stakeholder meetings during the negotiations.”
“We also put up blogs on areas of public interest explaining our positions and look for new ways to enhance transparency,” he explained.
Not all of these procedures are available in Malaysia and the other TPP countries as each one of them deals with the issue of transparency differently.
“At the end of the day, what is clear in the US is we will publish the document 60 days before signing the agreement. There will be hearings, public criticisms and experts can tear it apart.”
On the issue of Investor state dispute settlement (ISDS) which has bothered small nations like Malaysia, Froman it is not a new chapter.
It has existed with the US in all its 51 trade agreements over the past three decades as well as in Malaysia’s 58 trade agreements.
“It exists in all the 3,000 agreements across the world and companies have used it. Even in Malaysia, ISDS action has been instituted against China, India, Chile and Ghana.
“All countries in the TPP negotiations share the perspective that governments will regulate in public interest.”
Under the TPP, the approach is to raise standards under the ISDS and close loopholes which companies have used whilst ensuring `procedural safeguards’ and to also enable trade unions and civil society organisations to participate.