TPP was finally approved

On October 5^th 2015, Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a gigantic trading pact was approved in summary by the participants.

Sydney Morning Herald: The Trans-PacificPartnership: Pacific countries agree to historic trade pact

TPP aims to establish a rule among nations about free trade. Participants are required to accept the zero-tariff policy and to obey the shared legislation in many industrial regions. It enables their economy vital and smooth.

There were several conflicts in establishing TPP. For example, Japan opposed to reducing the tariff on rice because it is a base of agriculture. The US insisted on setting the term of patent protection of medicines as twelve years since it is decisive for American pharmaceutical companies. The negotiation lasted for eight years.

TPP is a free trade association at a glance. However, it is also a big cartel. China remains excluded from TPP. If TPP accelerates the trade among participants, China will have to join TPP, meaning to obey the rule made by the US and other countries. And it is not easy for China to arrange the domestic laws to adapt the legislation set by TPP.

My past entry: Discussion about the TPP inJapan and China

Korea is also in peril. TPP will help Japanese companies to export their products. It will lead to a difficulty for Samsung and LG to make a profit in the international market.

My past entry: South Korea participates inTPP

The US is not absolutely supporting TPP. Hillary Clinton, a candidate for the next President of the US, expressed a worry about TPP, albeit she had been supporting TPP formerly. To begin with, Democratic Party has a negative attitude to TPP because it would destroy domestic employment. Clinton’s alteration may be a performance to attract the support of voters.

CNN: Hillary Clinton comes out against TPPtrade deal

On the other hand, some politicians belonging to Republican Party are also opposing. Donald Trump harshly criticizes TPP as its agreement is a terrible deal.

RT.com: Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump slamTrans-Pacific Partnership deal as ‘disastrous’ & 'terrible’

The agreement of TPP must be one of the legacies of Obama administration. But it is unsure how TPP will be dealt by the next President.

In Japan, there was a broad criticism against TPP mainly by farmers. Recently, the magnitude of public attention seems to decrease because of other topics such as security bills. Some medical association is also opposing to TPP declaring the risk of increased medical cost.

I think that TPP is only a trading pact, far from the figure of globalization. For Japan, joining in TPP is rather beneficial in total. But it would not be an elixir for the damaged economy.