The Case For
The benefits of removing significant tariff and non-tariff barriers that restrict global trade and investment of goods and services supporters of TPP argue are significant. There are several reasons to support the TPP despite globalization concerns.
- First, the TPP — which seeks to govern exchange of not only traditional goods and services, but also intellectual property and foreign investment — would promote trade in knowledge-intensive services in which companies exert a strong comparative advantage.
- Second, it is argued that killing the TPP would do little to bring factory work back to America or other countries involved and the potential gains of the TPP for the partners are significant.
- Third, some have argued that although China is not part of the TPP, enacting the agreement would raise regulatory rules and standards for several of China’s key trading partners. That would pressure China to meet some of those standards and cease its attempts to game global trade to impede foreign multinational companies.
The Case Against
There are several arguments poining at the potential risks linked to the implementation of TPP:
- There are fears over the impact TPP may have on certain products and services in member countries and some campaign groups have raised concerns about the impact such a wide-ranging agreement may have on intellectual property laws and patent enforcement. The fear the deal may extend the scope of patents in sectors such a medicine and prevent the distribution of generic drugs.
- Leaked documents from TPP negotiations reveals that the deal would even empower foreign corporations to skirt domestic courts and directly challenge our health, environmental and other public interest policies before extrajudicial foreign tribunals. Consequently our national democracies would be undermined. The Canadian social activist Naomi Klein goes further and claims: “The Trans-Pacific Partnership or TPP—has been called 'NAFTA on steroids.' It’s the latest and largest in a series of international agreements that have attacked working women and men, fuelled mindless and carbon-intensive consumption, and prevented governments from enforcing their own laws to cut greenhouse gas emissions.”
- Finally, a major criticism is that it is currently being negotiated behind closed doors by officials from the United States and 11 the other countries. The lack of transparency and accountability in these highly important negotiations makes very difficult for some stakeholders and experts to provide any input in the process.
https://netivist.org/debate/tpp-pros-and-cons
