Trans-Pacific Partnership to be Signed on February 4th Latin American Herald Tribune
go to original January 21, 2016

Celeste Drake (AFL-CIO) and Melinda St. Louis (GTW) pose with representatives from Mexican unions and civil society organizations at a seminar on the dangers of the TPP in Mexico City. (Public Citizen)

The Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, will be signed on Feb. 4 in the city of Auckland in New Zealand, following a long period of negotiation, official sources reported Thursday.

The agreement will create the biggest free-trade zone in history comprising 12 countries, including Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam.

"Following signature, all 12 countries will be able to begin their respective domestic ratification processes and will have up to two years to complete that before the agreement enters into force," New Zealand's Trade Minister Todd McClay said in a statement.

The agreement, which will account for 40 percent of the world economy, was concluded in October last year after five years of negotiations and a long, final session of talks in Atlanta in the United States.

The TPP has been criticized over the secrecy surrounding the negotiations while nonprofits and trade unions have claimed it poses a threat to workers' rights, access to medicine, and environment, among others.

The agreement, seen as a counterweight to China's economic clout in the Pacific region, also had to overcome hurdles regarding agricultural quotas, automotive industry, intellectual property laws and pharmaceutical patents, during the negotiations.

See the original at Latin American Herald Tribune

Related: South America Takes to the Streets Against TPP (teleSUR)

Related: Thousands Protest Against Pacific Trade Deal in Malaysia (GMA News)

Related: The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPPA) Explained In Five Minutes (Stuff)

We invite you to add your charity or supporting organizations' news stories and coming events to PVAngels so we can share them with the world. Do it now!