INSIDE GLOBAL ISSUES

Policy Brief No. 201654
November 3, 2016

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TPP failure would cost the US trade dominance

Dong Yan, Bi Jing

Impacted by the US presidential election, there is a slim chance that the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement will take effect by the end of this year. The US Congress is unlikely to ratify the agreement as US President Barack Obama expected and one of the TPP member countries, Vietnam, has decided to hold off on initiating any legal procedures until after the US presidential election.

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According to chapter 30 of the TPP titled "Final Provisions," all countries need to ratify the agreement within two years of signing or "it shall enter into force 60 days after the expiry of this period if at least six of the original signatories, which together account for at least 85 percent of the combined GDP of the original signatories."

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