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TPP partners reach agreement on 'core elements' of Pacific trade deal, Canada says
By John Paul Tasker, CBC News Posted: Nov 10, 2017 12:14 PM ET| Last Updated: Nov 10, 2017 1:27 PM ET
The 11 Trans-Pacific Partnership countries have reached an agreement on "core elements" of the trade pact, namely that all countries will adhere to strict labour and environment standards, a development Canada is championing as a major breakthrough after talks broke down earlier Friday.
A final agreement in principle is still in the works because the countries have not settled on all aspects of the deal.
The original TPP, which is currently under renegotiation after U.S. President Donald Trump pulled America out of the deal, included strong provisions that demanded all member countries eliminate child and forced labour, adopt and maintain laws and practices governing "acceptable conditions of work," and uphold the right to collective bargaining.
But some countries, including Malaysia and Vietnam, sought to opt out of such provisions during the talks, something Canada felt was untenable.
Those countries have now come back onside, International Trade Minister Philippe-Francois Champagne said, and have agreed to the terms of the original TPP.
"We got a better deal for Canada, we were also able to enhance the progressive elements — as the prime minister says you don't do trade in the 21st century like you did before," he said.
All countries have agreed now to implement regulations around minimum wages, hours of work and occupational safety and health, for example, something the original TPP called for.
Champagne said if a country does not adhere to these requirements as called for in the agreement, any country could haul another offending partner in front of a trade tribunal, and they would be subject to the dispute resolution process.
The 11 partner countries have now put "four specific items" aside to allow for further negotiations, notably chapters relating to rules of origin, which includes automotive parts, before a deal is signed.
The chapter relating to intellectual property has been "suspended," which means, in plain terms, that it will no longer be part of a renegotiated TPP, a victory for Canada as many companies — notably Blackberry's former CEO Jim Balsillie — were worried about that chapter.
Canada is also pushing partners to change provisions relating to culture. Canada said the other 10 countries did "affirm the right of each party to preserve, develop and implement its cultural policies," but specifics have yet to be finalized.
Some observers have warned the text of the original TPP, negotiated by the former Conservative government and ultimately signed by the Liberals shortly after they took office, would undermine the federal government's promotion of Canadian culture through funding for artists and financial support for film production, periodicals and public broadcasting.
The original TPP deal included weaker protections for cultural industries than in other trade treaties, including NAFTA and CETA, the Canada-EU free trade deal.
The preamble to TPP recognized the rights of countries to regulate certain sectors — public health, safety, the environment — but notably left cultural industries off the list, a departure for Canada, which, under governments of all political stripes, has pushed for a lot of leeway for federal and provincial governments alike to support cultural industries without fear of reprisal at a trade tribunal.
Canada blamed for delay
Earlier Friday, a planned meeting of TPP countries was unexpectedly cancelled after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau skipped the event when bilateral talks with his Japanese counterpart ended in disagreement.
Liberal government officials refuted international reports — notably from Australian and New Zealand news outlets — that suggested Canada alone was to blame for delayed TPP talks.
At the time, a spokesperson for the prime minister said there was no consensus between the 11 member countries.