What if the United States wanted to join TPP11 (CPTPP)? The Chilean government responds to this, after explaining the negotiating process for this trade agreement.
He put it as follows:
Following the United States’ decision not to form part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), signed on February 4, 2016 in Auckland, New Zealand, the remaining countries embarked on the search for alternatives, a process that culminated in the signing of this new Agreement.
The TPP11 subscription ceremony was held in Chile, on March 8, 2018, and was headed by former President Michelle Bachelet and then-Chancellor Heraldo Muñoz.
This new Agreement preserves all the advantages of the original TPP, but leaves without application 20 provisions, most of them on Intellectual Property, which had been promoted by the United States.
The suspended provisions were aimed at reaching a balanced agreement among the 11 countries.
How did the TPP11 negotiation process start?
After the withdrawal of the United States (February 2017), the remaining subscribers began a process to seek alternatives that would allow them to move forward without renegotiating the entire Agreement.
This is how in March 2017, within the framework of the «High Level Dialogue of Integration Initiatives in the Asia Pacific», convened by Chile and held in Viña del Mar, the first talks began between the remaining 11 signatories.
In November 2017, the 11 countries decided to go ahead with the Treaty (TPP11), making the necessary modifications to safeguard the strategic interests of each country, but maintaining the high standards, articulation and balance of the original TPP.
After multiple rounds of negotiation, held between December 2017 and January 2018, the countries agreed to sign a new Treaty: the Comprehensive and Progressive Treaty of Trans-Pacific Partnership.
What if the United States wanted to join TPP11?
The accession of the United States, as well as of any other country, requires the agreement of the members and must be done under the terms and conditions that all members approve.
This does not mean that the suspended rules will automatically cease to be. These must be renegotiated, with each member country having the power of veto against the inclusion of any matter.
This process will also require compliance with the internal legislative procedures of each country. In the case of Chile, they must be approved by Congress, being processed in the same way as a new international treaty would be processed.
What is the TIPAT?
The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement of Trans-Pacific Partnership, better known as CPTPP or TPP11, is the four largest Free Trade Agreement in the world, after the Regional Comprehensive Economic Association (RCEP), the CETA (between Canada and the European Union) and the USMCA (United States, Mexico and Canada).
It is made up of 11 Asia Pacific countries (Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam), which together make up a market of 502 million people.
Likewise, the TPP11 must comply with the approval procedures in each of the countries for its entry into force.
These ratifications have already been met (6 were required) and therefore the Treaty entered into force on December 30, 2018 for Japan, Mexico, Singapore, New Zealand, Canada and Australia; while for Vietnam the Agreement entered into force on January 14, 2019.
This is how the Chilean government responded to the question of What would happen if the United States wanted to adhere to TPP11? Paradoxically, despite its initial promotion, Chile has not entered into this trade agreement.
Another point to ponder is that the United States has high bargaining power.
