[CTC] TPP's ultimate goal is a Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific (FTAAP)

[Arthur Stamoulis]

Kirk Explains US Asia-Pacific Trade Policy
by Mike Godfrey, Tax-News.com, Washington
30 April 2012
http://www.tax-news.com/news/Kirk_Explains_US_AsiaPacific_Trade_Policy____55219.html
In remarks at Singapore Management University, the United States Trade  
Representative Ron Kirk described the Administration's broad trade  
policy in the Asia-Pacific region as using the Trans-Pacific  
Partnership (TPP) to make further progress with its trading partners  
around the Pacific Rim.
He recalled that "nearly ten years ago, we worked together to secure  
the US-Singapore trade agreement, which was the most ambitious of its  
generation. Since then, we have joined with you and seven other Asia- 
Pacific countries - Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand,  
Peru and Vietnam - to negotiate the TPP. This ambitious regional trade  
agreement grew from the so-called P4 agreement that Singapore  
pioneered in 2005 along with Chile, New Zealand and Brunei."
"When President Obama announced here at the Asia-Pacific Economic  
Cooperation (APEC) forum in 2009 that the US was joining TPP," he  
stressed, "it was a significant early sign of our serious commitment  
to active US engagement with the Asia-Pacific region".
He emphasized how the countries in the TPP negotiations are working to  
"update an open regional trading system for the 21st century," with  
new and cross-cutting trade issues that will have "significant  
implications for enhancing regional trade integration and economic  
growth".
For example, to promote efficiency, the TPP partners are working  
together to develop a regional agreement with more common rules and  
more seamless regulation that will make it easier and more efficient  
to trade in goods, agriculture, and services and to promote the growth  
of the digital economy, including cloud computing, which particularly  
benefits small- and medium-sized enterprises. "For example, we are  
working to ensure the free flow of information and of data through the  
TPP region without unwarranted restrictions," he said.
"As we address critical next generation trade issues," he added, "TPP  
partners are seeking an agreement that is both durable and flexible.  
That is why we are developing an agreement that is open to new  
entrants. Currently, TPP partners are continuing consultations with  
Japan, Canada, and Mexico regarding their interest and readiness to  
join TPP."
In addition, he also confirmed that the US government's ultimate aim  
is to construct a Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific (FTAAP), but it  
recognized that the TPP could not be the only means for a diverse  
array of Asia-Pacific economies to enhance regional trade and  
investment. "In fact, we believe that APEC, the Association of  
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and other regional economic  
institutions are serving as complementary platforms in pursuit of  
these shared goals," he observed.
In particular, Kirk pointed out that the US is seeking to complete the  
next stages in APEC's work on environmental goods and services  
liberalization, a market-driven model to promote innovation, supply  
chain performance and the realignment of regulations among its  
economies.
With ASEAN, there may be an opportunity for the US to work with all  
ten ASEAN members in new ways that recognize the "unique role" that  
ASEAN plays in the Asia-Pacific region, he added. "Since 2006 the US- 
ASEAN Trade and Investment Framework Agreement has served to deepen  
our relations and support ASEAN integration, including ASEAN's goal of  
becoming a single economic community by 2015," Kirk noted.
He also pointed to the work between the US and its Asia-Pacific  
trading partners to expand the World Trade Organization (WTO)  
Information Technology Agreement (ITA) by eliminating tariffs on  
additional information and communications technology (ICT) goods, in  
response to the rapid growth of supply chains for ICT products across  
the region.
In his opinion, a successful ITA expansion negotiation would provide a  
much needed boost to world economic recovery. "In fact, the  
Information Technology and Innovation Foundation estimates that  
expanding ITA product coverage could add up to USD190bn to global  
gross domestic product annually. Consequently, I urge all of our Asia- 
Pacific partners to accelerate their (ITA) preparations before the  
launch of negotiations at the WTO," Kirk said.
He also insisted that the US sees China as an integral participant in  
the development of a cohesive regional economy "if it opens its market  
with the same dedication that has characterized its pursuit of entry  
into other countries' markets over the past decade".
He confirmed that the Administration will explore all issues further  
with China through bilateral dialogues such as the Joint Committee on  
Commerce and Trade, as well as the Strategic & Economic Dialogue. "And  
when we have trade disputes, the US will continue to seek resolution  
with China or any other trading partner through available dispute  
settlement tools, such as those offered by the WTO," he said.
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