TPP close to do or die time
JOHN KEY concedes the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement hangs in the balance – and failure to reach a resolution this week could sound its death knell.
Trade Minister Tim Groser is en route to Atlanta, in the United States, where officials are making a last push to get the deal over the line.
There have also been talks on the fringes of the United Nations General Assembly among TPPA countries, including New Zealand, the US, Japan, Australia and Canada. Finding acceptable compromises has been the hot topic on the lips of many leaders at cocktail functions, lunchtime pullasides and even whispered conversations in corridors.
But crucial sticking points remain, including concessions on dairy – or rather the lack of any meaningful concessions at all.
Failure to get any movement on that front would make the deal politically unpalatable to New Zealand, even though it would be just as unpalatable politically to walk away.
The Government has had a hard job selling the benefits of TPPA in the face of staunch domestic opposition over fears it will undercut sovereignty and undermine the ability of New Zealand’s drug buying agency Pharmac to contain the cost of pharmaceuticals.
New Zealand’s main motivation in signing up to the TPPA would be to get hefty tariffs and punitive quotas lifted on our exports so our farmers can be more competitive in lucrative markets like the US, home to some of the world’s wealthiest consumers.
Key remained hopeful after two days in New York that the deadlock could be broken but acknowledged there was only a limited window of opportunity.
‘I remain of the view there is a chance we can conclude a deal in Atlanta [but]if we don’t get a deal in Atlanta we are running out of time.’’
Asked if that meant Atlanta was the last chance for the TPPA, Key said US trade officials had repeatedly warned that failure to get a deal by the end of the year would kill the deal.
Upcoming Canadian elections and next year’s US primaries were likely to stall the deal unless it could be signed off soon.