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The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has released the final text of the revised Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Following the withdrawal of the United States in early 2017, a new agreement was reached between Australia and 10 other Pacific Nations in late January 2018. The new agreement has been named the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). The CPTPP will be signed in Chile in March. Each signatory then will undertake the necessary ratification processes within their own state.
The CPTPP incorporates the provisions of the original Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) as signed in 2016. Without the US as a signatory, however, it has suspended or amended a number of provisions.
The relevant changes include:
There is no indication whether and when the suspended obligations will be reinstated.
The CPTPP will enter into force 60 days after half of the parties have provided notice that their applicable ratification procedures have been completed. For Australia, this requires the text of the CPTPP to be tabled in Parliament and the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties to provide a full report.
The CPTPP continues to be a high quality investment agreement, containing provisions that will open up markets within the region. The economic and legal institutional arrangements that support the globalisation of world markets are changing rapidly. The CPTPP is a step towards a greater goal set by APEC of a Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific.
Further analysis and commentary on this very important step in the continued globalisation of world markets will soon appear.
For enquiries, please contact Donald Robertson, Partner and Leon Chung, Partner.
The contents of this publication are for reference purposes only and may not be current as at the date of accessing this publication. They do not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. Specific legal advice about your specific circumstances should always be sought separately before taking any action based on this publication.
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