Canada and the Trans-Pacific Partnership

* Executive Summary * * To succeed in future global trade, the Trans-Pacific Partnership will expand on existing tree trade agreements to address 21st century issues. The TPP will create a standardized platform on which countries will effectively operate. The TPP will focus on issues such as barriers to trade, the digital sphere, privacy laws, and green technologies. The TPP also hopes to act as a bridge to improve trade and investment from Asia. * Membership in the TPP will prove to be very important for the Canadian economy. This free trade agreement will help to drive production and competition by opening up a global marketplace. Membership in the TPP will also present Canada with several issues. Current TPP members, mainly the United States and New Zealand, are adamant that Canada’s supply management of agricultural sectors be open for discussion. Canada’s relatively lenient laws with copyright protection will also be looked at. While many support protecting Canada’s current laws, many see this as an opportunity to re-define trade and abolish an outdated system for stabilizing the farming industry. * 15 rounds of negotiations have occurred, and we can only speculate what will materialize. Many questions remain in regards to Canada’s supply management as well as if Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea and China will join the discussions. * * * What is the TPP? * The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a free trade agreement formed in 2007 that seeks to further expand the “flow of goods, services and capital across boarders.” The TPP has expanded on the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement (P4). 11 countries are currently in negotiations for the TPP, including Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam, Mexico, the United States and Canada. The members have a “combined population of 658 million people and combined GDP of $20.5 trillion”. All TPP

Cited: Berthiaume, Lee. "Canada Pressured to Open Agriculture Industry to Foreign Competition." Postmedia NewsSep 06 2011. CBCA Reference & Current Events. Web. 6 Nov. 2012 . Canada joins closed door TPP negotiations: Cristics warn Canadian Internet rights will suffer.” The Vancouver Sun. 10 Oct. 2012. Web. 2 Nov 2012. Ditchburn, Jennifer * Hill, Charles. Global Business Today. Unites States: McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 2012. Print. * Johnstone, Bruce. “Is Supply Management on the table in TPP Talks?” Leader-Post. 21 Jun. 2012. Web. 2 Nov. 2012. [ 1 ]. APEC Finance Minister. The Kyoto Report on Growth Strategy and Finance. Ministry of Finance Japan. Japan. Web. 2 Nov. 2012. [ 2 ]. Geist, Michael. “Whats behind Canada’s entry to the TPP talks?” The Star. 24 Jun. 2012. Web. 2 Nov. 2012. [ 3 ]. Thompson, Andrew. “Canada Joins the Trans-Pacific Partnership” Blakes. 17 Jul. 2012. Web. 2 Nov. 2012. [ 4 ]. Schrier, Dan. “Will supply management keep Canada out of the TPP?” BC Stats. 9 Dec. 2011. Web. 2 Nov. 2012. [ 5 ]. Lewis, Meredith Kolsky. "The Trans-Pacific Partnership: New Paradigm Or Wolf In Sheep 's Clothing?."Boston College International & Comparative Law Review 34.1 (2011): 27-52. Academic Search Complete. Web. 6 Nov. 2012. [ 6 ]. Fekete, Jason. “Pacific free trade deal wital to Canada, experts say, as Steven Harper attends APEC summit.” The Vancouver Sun. 6 Sept. 2012. Web. 2 Nov. 2012. [ 7 ]. Peter O`Neil. "Canada Slammed for Protectionism Over Inflated Milk, Egg Prices." Postmedia NewsJun 22 2012. CBCA Reference & Current Events. Web. 6 Nov. 2012 . [ 9 ]. Löfgren, Hans. "The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement: a threat to affordable medicines and public health." Southern Med Review Dec. 2011: 2+. Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 Nov. 2012 [ 10 ] [ 11 ]. Canada joins closed door TPP negotiations: Critics warn Canadian Internet rights will suffer.” The Vancouver Sun. 10 Oct. 2012. Web. 2 Nov 2012. [ 12 ]. Johnstone, Bruce. “Is Supply Management on the table in TPP Talks?” Leader-Post. 21 Jun. 2012. Web. 2 Nov. 2012. [ 13 ]. Ditchburn, Jennifer. "Asia Hungry for Agricultural Products, but Supply Management a Problem: Report." The Canadian PressApr 22 2012. CBCA Reference & Current Events. Web. 6 Nov. 2012 . [ 14 ]. Berthiaume, Lee. "Canada Pressured to Open Agriculture Industry to Foreign Competition." Postmedia NewsSep 06 2011. CBCA Reference & Current Events. Web. 6 Nov. 2012 . [ 15 ]. * Hill, Charles. Global Business Today. Unites States: McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 2012. Print.