Richard G. Dearden
Partner
Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers
Article
Published01 November 2015
Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement text and Side Letters released
8
minute read
Today the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada posted a link to the text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement. At the same time, the Office of the United States Trade Representative also published a link to the text of the TPP. The 12 country members of the TPP are: Australia, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, United States, Vietnam, Chile, Brunei, Singapore, and New Zealand.
The Parties to the TPP have agreed to a comprehensive agreement that contains the following 30 chapters:
Chapter 1. Initial Provisions and General Definitions
Chapter 2. National Treatment and Market Access for Goods
Chapter 3. Rules of Origin and Origin Procedures
Chapter 4. Textiles and Apparel
Chpater 5. Customs Administration and Trade Facilitation
Chapter 7. Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures
Chapter 8. Technical Barriers to Trade
Chapter 10. Cross-Border Trade in Services
Chapter 11. Financial Services
Chapter 12. Temporary Entry for Business Persons
Chapter 13. Telecommunications
Chapter 14. Electronic Commerce
Chapter 15. Government Procurement
Chapter 16. Competition Policy
Chapter 17. State-Owned Enterprises and Designated Monopolies
Chapter 18. Intellectual Property
Chapter 21. Cooperation and Capacity Building
Chapter 22. Competitiveness and Business Facilitation
Chapter 24. Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises
Chapter 25. Regulatory Coherence
Chapter 26. Transparency and Anti-Corruption
Chapter 27. Administrative and Institutional Provisions
Chapter 28. Dispute Settlement
Chapter 29. Exceptions and General Provisions
The publication of the TPP text was accompanied by the release of the Side Letters, agreements meant to complement and clarify the position between the Parties to the TPP on specific issues. Canada has entered into a total of 23 Side Letters with the TPP Parties on the following topics: national treatment and market access for goods, financial services, government procurement, intellectual property and environment. The United States has entered into 58 Side Letters with the TPP Parties.
The Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development noted that the TPP text was negotiated in English and it is currently being translated into French. The text will also continue to undergo legal review and will be translated into Spanish as well prior to signature.
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