The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement is in place after being considered a death sentence a year after the United States withdrew from it for Thursday in Chile, 11 countries from the United States and Asia, in a strong stance against protectionist efforts.
Washington promoted under President Barack Obama to the agreement and signed in 2016 after years of negotiations involving 12 countries overlooking the Pacific are the United States, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
But before it went into effect, President Donald Trump announced his withdrawal from the pact, threatening a deal that was aimed at countries that accounted for 40 percent of world gross domestic product and about 25 percent of world trade.
"After everyone's immediate decision, everyone immediately expressed a very strong commitment to the need for a political signal to the world and to the United States that the agreement is good and that we will not remain idle," said Chilean delegation leader Philippe Lopendia.
A year later, in Santiago, Chile, the so-called Global and Trans-Pacific Partnership for Peace will be signed, including almost all of the original text, except 20 intellectual property-related clauses imposed by Washington. Chile says the IP chapter is "more balanced" in the new agreement.
- Against protectionism -
The signing is a sign of opposition to the prevailing protectionism after Tramb announced his intention to impose heavy tariffs on steel and aluminum, threatening a trade war.
"This reinforces some confidence in regional capabilities or the ability of different countries to make progress on important agreements," said Lubyandia.
However, it is hard to ignore the powerful blow that Washington's withdrawal represented when the agreement no longer covers only 15 to 18 percent of the world's gross domestic product. It is the most modern agreement that has taken place at the global level, "said Ignacio Partesaghi, professor of business administration at the Catholic University of Uruguay.
"There is no trade agreement that includes such a number of countries and includes 30 chapters dealing with such contemporary issues in world trade," he said.
Washington has prepared the deal as a means of countering China's growing influence in world trade, but Trump has attacked it on the grounds that it threatens the interests of American workers.
But at the end of January, he hinted at the possibility of his country's return, noting that a "much better deal" was needed instead of the new deal, which he described as "terrible."
"Trump's advisers have gradually come to understand the role of the United States in the Asia-Pacific region and the role of the partnership agreement in this region, not only economically and commercially, but geopolitically as well," Bartsaghi said.
- New standard -
But Japan looked skeptical. "If the United States returns and takes a more positive attitude towards the partnership agreement, this is welcome, but it will not be that easy," said Japanese government negotiator Kazuyoshi Ummoto.
The agreement includes the removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers, such as the adoption of common norms in several sectors between the signatory countries with a population of 500 million.
The Chilean Foreign Ministry says the partnership agreement "sets a new standard for any comprehensive regional economic agreement, including for future negotiations within the World Trade Organization or the Asia-Pacific Forum."
The Agreement shall enter into force sixty days after the ratification of at least six of the 11 Signatory Countries. For Chile, this means "expanding our potential market and our people's access to a greater number of products," according to Lima Chamber of Commerce Chairman Mario Mongelardi.
17% of Chile's exports go to the countries of the Association Agreement and even if they have concluded free trade agreements with some of these countries, the new agreement improves their access to these markets. They can, for example, get about 1,000 products at a lower fee, although their agreement with Japan is not covered.
Mexico and Peru will similarly improve their ability to enter the markets of countries on the other side, such as Vietnam and Malaysia.
