CPTPP

CPTPP

Subject: International Agreements

Context: Britain will next week formally apply to join a trans-Pacific trading bloc of 11 countries, with negotiations set to start later this year, the government said

Concept:

• The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership may be referred to as a free trade agreement between the countries Australia, Canada, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam, Mexico and Japan. It is one of the largest free trade agreements negotiated till date.

The key features of this agreement are as follows:

• Creating a free trade area: The Agreement calls for a free trade area to be created as per requirements of Article XXIV of GATT (envisages the need for a free trade area for facilitating trade between the constituent territories but not for raising barriers to trade) and Article V of GATS (grounds for economic integration).
• National Treatment: It requires the parties to give national treatment to the goods of the other State parties as per GATT provisions.
• Eliminating customs duties: The Agreement stipulates that no party is allowed to increase customs duty on an originating good or adopt any new customs duty with respect to it. Rather, parties have been mandated to eliminate these customs duties as per commitments set forth in the annexure.
• In case of export for repair or alteration: If a good is exported to another Party’s territory for the purpose of repair or alteration, it has to still be exempted from customs duty.
• Export and import restrictions: The Agreement prevents any restrictions on export or import of goods from another Party except as provided under Article XI of GATT 1994.
• Committee on Trade in Goods: A Committee on Trade in Goods is to be established consisting of government representative from every signatory country.
• The Committee is to meet once in a year for the first five years after the Agreement enters into force.
• Safeguard Measures: The Agreement provides for conditions when safeguard measures can be applied which include global safeguards stated by the GATT and transitional safeguard measures.
• It also provides for the practices relating to antidumping and countervailing duty.
• The other provisions relate to financial services, technical barriers to trade, investment and sanitary and phytosanitary measures.