After the TPP

This was partially by circumstance, since the minority Harper government was preoccupied with other issues, and partially by design since the prevailing wisdom at the time was that the makeup of the TPP offered little to Canada by way of new market access — and Canada did not seem to be interested in the TPP’s strategic dimension. [...] The previous arguments against joining late, such as the requirement that as a condition of entry latecomers accept all elements of the agreement already negotiated and agreed to by the original partners, went by the boards. [...] Abe still needs the TPP as the spur to enact his domestic economic reform agenda and Japan has refused to let the agreement die even as it explores informally the possibility of opening bilateral talks with the U. S. Pursuing bilateral negotiations, with the U. S. as the hub and other countries as the spokes, is apparently the strategy Trump favours. [...] The purpose of the meeting in Chile was exploratory and open-ended — to see if there is a will to maintain the gains achieved through the TPP negotiations, a position strongly espoused by Australian Trade Minister Steven Ciobo.14 As expected, the only agreement was to keep talking and keep channels open. [...] The centre undertook a number of projects in the region including important work in the 1990s on the issue of conflicting jurisdictions in the South China Sea.