Geelong Advertiser

Pacific 11 to go it alone

Trade deal to be signed without US

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THE Trans-Pacific Partnershi­p trade pact, which had been on life support since America’s withdrawal, has been revived and is being trumpeted as a jobs boom for Australia.

The 11 remaining countries are expected to sign a tweaked agreement on March 8 in Chile.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said yesterday it was a “big deal” for the Australian economy.

“It will mean billions of additional exports and thousands of additional jobs,” he said.

Mr Turnbull flagged he would encourage US President Donald Trump to change his mind when he visits Washington DC in coming months, but acknowledg­ed that was unlikely in the short term.

“The way the agreement is structured is so America can dock back in,” he said.

Canada threw a spanner in the works at an APEC leaders summit in Vietnam last year, derailing efforts to finalise the deal. But Ottawa has since been coaxed back to the fold following lobbying efforts by Tokyo and Canberra.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerlan­d overnight, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the agreement the “right deal”.

It now included an improved arrangemen­t on autos with Japan and the suspension of certain intellectu­al property provisions, Canada’s trade minister said in a statement.

Trade Minister Steve Ciobo says the overall deal will eliminate 98 per cent of tariffs in an 11-nation marketplac­e worth close to $14 trillion. “It hasn’t been easy, but we’re finally at the finish line and Aussie businesses will be the big winners,” he said.

Australian exporters will benefit from new trade agreements with Canada and Mexico and greater market access to Japan, Chile, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei.

There’s also a better deal for cheese and beef exports into Japan and new quotas for rice and wheat. Sugar producers will also have better access to markets in Japan, Canada and Mexico.

Treasurer Scott Morrison says Mr Ciobo and the prime minister had been like a “dog with a bone” securing the deal.

“We had Bill Shorten and the Labor party who were about as enthusiast­ic about trade as a wet blanket,” Mr Morrison said.

But Labor trade spokesman Jason Clare says the deal is very different to the original, which included the US. “If you take America out of that, it makes a very big difference, like taking the sun out of the solar system,” he said.

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