Wairarapa protesters against the TPPA march down Featherston's main street in Wellington. Photo / Andrew Bonallack
Prime Minister John Key says the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) will benefit the New Zealand economy, but not everyone is a supporter.
Here's what the international media is saying about the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
READ MORE:
• Explainer: What is the TPP?
• Don't rush into TPP, US critic tells Kiwis
• TPP 'great for NZ' claims John Key
• Joseph Stiglitz in The Guardian:
In Joseph Stiglitz's Guardian column, In 2016, let's hope for better trade agreements - and the death of TPP, the headline says it all.
"In 2016, we should hope for the TPP's defeat and the beginning of a new era of trade agreements that don't reward the powerful and punish the weak."
He said: "The Trans-Pacific Partnership may turn out to be the worst trade agreement in decades."
Stiglitz speaks of the trade's pitfalls and his hopes for the global trade deal.
"As a result, what was intended to be a global free trade regime has given way to a discordant managed trade regime. Trade for much of the Pacific and Atlantic regions will be governed by agreements, thousands of pages in length and replete with complex rules of origin that contradict basic principles of efficiency and the free flow of goods."
• Christopher Smillie in The Tyee:
The Canadian public's thoughts on the Trans-Pacific Partnership were revealed in a poll published on the website Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. The poll saw the majority of people vote 'moderately supporting' the proposed deal.
In Christopher Smillie's The Tyee article, Another TPP Loser? Canadian Trades Workers, he discusses how the trade deal has the potential to harm Canada's trade industry.
"Canada's GDP is less than half the size of Germany's. By any stretch of the imagination, our economy is small when compared to the giants we're playing with in the global sandbox. Strategic involvement in selective trade deals can benefit us; our products need markets, and our people need products at reasonable costs. But signing trade deals where the benefits for Canada are opaque -- or, at best, unconvincing to ordinary citizens -- is not a good idea."
Media in the United States has had a fair share of articles for and against the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
President Barack Obama has publicly supported the global trade deal, saying that it will provide endless opportunities by achieving both economic and strategic goals.
• Dean Baker in Aljazeera America:
Aljazeera America columnist Dean Baker wrote in his article, There's no reason to celebrate the TPP, that the TPP deal has no place in America.
Baker said the mainstream American media saw the final agreements in the deal as something to celebrate, but voiced his opinion on opposing it.
"If we think of the TPP as a traditional trade deal that lowers tariffs, quotas and other traditional barriers to trade, there is not much there to justify the hype. There are always winners and losers from these sorts of trade pacts, but at least there is a clear logic of lower barriers leading to increased efficiency. With few barriers to lower, there is not much to be gained in terms of efficiency."
Malcolm Farr in The Australian:
The Australian media have run some controversial headlines on the TPP deal, often citing the deal with the widely-used internet term, 'the dirtiest deal you've never heard of'.
In Malcolm Farr's column, Trade Minister Robb under pressure to reveal details so far of TPP 12-nation pact, the news.com.au editor discusses the pros and cons of the deal.
Farr quotes the Australian trade minister Andrew Robb saying: "Why would I set out to make Australians materially worse off?
He touches on government secrecy and its role in the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
"One reason from the Government is that when playing high stakes of global poker around the negotiating table it isn't good sense to show your cards in advance.
"Another is the process is so dense and incremental a position could change with trade-offs and gains."
Trade Ministers from around the Asia-Pacific will meet at Auckland's Sky City on Februrary 4 for the signing ceremony.
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