After more than six years of negotiations, last week the United States and 11 other Pacific Rim nations (Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam) formally signed the Trans-Pacific Partnership ("TPP") agreement. The TPP has been named by many as the largest trade deal in history, expected to cover 40 percent of the world economy. As previously published in our Jones Day Update, although supported by President Obama, the TPP has encountered multiple oppositions from both Democrats and Republicans. The TPP aims to eliminate more than 18,000 tariff taxes other countries put on Made-in-America products. Many steps still remain in finalizing the trade deal. The TPP still needs to be ratified by at least six countries (including the United States), which account for 85 percent of the combined gross domestic production of the 12 TPP nations, and Congress will need to vote on final ratification of the legislation.
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