By Connor Lynch
SANTIAGO — After over a decade of negotiation and re-negotiating, working and re-working, the latest iteration of the Trans-Pacific Partnership was signed on March 8.
World leaders from the 11-member countries met in Santiago, Chile, to sign the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, one of the world’s largest trade deals. Together, the countries represent 13 per cent of the world economy.
The deal has survived being rocked multiple times in the last 17 months. U.S. President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the deal the same month he took office. The deal then hit an unexpected speed bump when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau didn’t show for a meeting expected to finalize the deal in Vietnam last November.
In January, Australia and Japan called for a March deadline to get the deal done.
The deal has been a mixed bag for agriculture, good news for most but not all sectors. Grain, beef, and hog farmers all stand to gain either directly or indirectly, particularly from opened access to Japan’s huge market. The dairy sector will be taking a hit, with access to Canadian dairy market increased by 3.25 per cent.
That was a demand made by the United States that Canada did not attempt to renegotiate when the U.S. pulled out.
