Brent Scowcroft Center Resident Senior Fellow Robert Manning writes for Nikkei Asian Review on the details of the recently negotiated Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP):
The ink was hardly dry on the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership, the first major multilateral trade agreement in two decades, when the snipers began taking shots at it. The stakes are high, yet the fate of the agreement is hardly certain.
In the U.S., Republicans in Congress who have been strongly supporting it began to express doubts. Hillary Clinton, who as secretary of state was its leading advocate as the front line of the U.S. “pivot” to Asia that she championed, now as a U.S. presidential candidate, came out against it, for reasons of political expediency. The TPP may be a key factor in the outcome of Canadian elections next week. Even in Japan, Prime Minister Abe, who sees the pact as part of his attempt to revive the economy, appointed a committee to address those in Japan who may be negatively impacted by it.