The long-awaited text of the landmark trade deal called the
Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) has been released to the public for the
first time.
The TPP is one of the world's most extensive trade agreements,
bringing together 12 Pacific rim countries, including the US and Japan.
The deal was struck last month after five years of tense negotiations, but continues to face fierce opposition.
The text still has to be translated into the languages of the signatories.
It also must still be ratified by lawmakers in each member country
and some of the countries involved need it to undergo a legal review.
A controversial deal
The full text is about 6,000 pages long and was first released by New Zealand's government.
Critics have said the deal is biased towards corporations, and does
not cover climate change concerns, among several other issues.
Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch said on Thursday the final text
had revealed details about the deal that were worse than expected.
"Apparently, the TPP's proponents resorted to such extreme secrecy
during negotiations because the text shows that the TPP would offshore
more American jobs, lower our wages, flood us with unsafe imported food
and expose our laws to attack in foreign tribunals," the organisation's
director Lori Wallach said.
'Failed to be transparent'
On Thursday, US President Barack Obama formally notified Congress of
his intent to sign the deal, but he must gather support in Washington to
ensure it will be formally approved.
Last month, US presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton came out against
the TPP, saying she was not in favour of what she had learned about it.
She joined rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination, Martin
O'Malley and Bernie Sanders in her stance against the deal.
On the release of the full text of the TPP, Canada's newly-elected
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that while his party supported free
trade, the previous government had "failed to be transparent through the
entirety of the [TPP] negotiations".
"Especially in regards to what Canada is conceding in order to be accepted into this partnership," he said in a statement.
"The federal government must keep its word and defend Canadian
interests during the TPP's ratification process - which includes
defending supply management, our auto sector, and Canadian manufacturers
across the country," he added.
In Australia, the country's trade and investment minister Andrew Robb
said the release of the text to the public honoured a commitment from
all member countries to do so before it was officially signed.
"Today's release... provides the Australian public with an
opportunity to examine the text and more fully understand any areas of
the negotiation that are of interest to them," Robb said.
He said the deal would "contribute substantially to the
diversification of [Australia's] economy" and would reduce the need to
rely on one sector or market, "regardless of how strong they are".
The member countries of the TPP account for some 40% of the global
economy and include Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico,
New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam.
The deal cuts trade tariffs and sets common standards in trade for all the countries.
