[CTC] Japan Joining Trade Talks Fuels Criticism Over Barriers

[Arthur Stamoulis]

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130313/10181122311/mexico-will-ask-to-join-us-eu-transatlantic-trade-agreement.shtml

Mexico Will Ask To Join US-EU Transatlantic Trade Agreement
from the really-getting-serious dept
Things are moving fast with the proposed US-EU transatlantic free  
trade agreement (TAFTA). It was only a few weeks ago that the formal  
announcement was made, and already another country wants to join, as  
pointed out by @PostActa (original in Spanish):
The Mexican government wants to be part of the negotiations of the  
Transatlantic Association of Trade and Investment (TTIP, in its  
English acronym), which the United States and European Union will be  
negotiating, with the idea that there will be two blocks that make up  
the future pact.
That is, alongside the EU block of 27 countries, Mexico is suggesting  
there should be a similar regional grouping in North America.  
Interestingly, the story says that the Mexican government will ask the  
US President for permission to join, with no mention of asking the EU:
"It is a sovereign decision of Washington as to the approach and the  
negotiation strategy to be adopted", and although the U.S. government  
has already referred to the idea, it is something that is not yet  
included in a formal dialogue, and needs to be defined.
That suggests that the US is actively involved in this latest move --  
maybe even its instigator -- and would look favorably on Mexico  
joining TAFTA. There's also a hint in the article quoted above that  
Canada too might join TAFTA. Having both Mexico and Canada on board  
would be consistent with the US's past approach, where it allowed them  
to join the TPP negotiations, but on fairlyhumiliating terms that  
limit their scope of action.
Whether or not Mexico and Canada become part of TAFTA, and under what  
terms, it's pretty clear what the US strategy here is. Just today we  
learned that South Korea is likely to join Japan in asking to sign up  
to the TPP talks. That would make TPP the defining international  
agreement for the entire Pacific region. TAFTA obviously aims to do  
the same for the Atlantic. As well as establishing the US as the key  
link between the giant TPP and TAFTA blocs, this double-headed  
approach would also isolate the main emerging economies -- Brazil,  
Russia, India and above all China -- if they refuse to join as  
presumably junior partners. That globe-spanning pair of trade pacts,  
it would seem, are what Obama hopes to be remembered for when he  
leaves office: his legacy to America -- and to history.
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