TPP Ratification in US Congress Not this Year

The prospects for the US Congress to ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement are looking increasingly dim this year, despite continued efforts by the White House to build support for the deal.

Over six months after the TPP was signed in Auckland, New Zealand, the mammoth mega-regional deal with rules on areas ranging from environment to e-commerce is now facing an uncertain fate in the ratification stage.

In order to enter into force, the agreement must first be ratified domestically by at least six countries representing 85 percent of the group’s total GDP. Therefore, both the United States Congress and the Japanese Diet must approve the agreement for TPP to move forward, which is set to be a challenging task for both legislatures.

Looking to 2017, both Republican Party candidate Donald Trump and Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton have declared that they oppose the TPP in its current form, leaving the pact’s future uncertain in the next Administration. The US Congress too is not happy with the date exclusivity clause in bio drugs.

In Japan, the government has already finalised a bill seeking ratification of TPP and has created a committee to this effect, with a vote in the Diet now slated for this autumn. The debate in the Asian economic giant is expected to be contentious, particularly when it comes to the deal’s provisions on agricultural liberalisation, which have long been a sensitive subject in Japanese politics.