The Trans-Pacific Partnership and its Impact on the NZ Health Sector

1 February 2015

A very important process is currently flying below the public radar and I think it requires urgent scrutiny. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a regional trade treaty under negotiation between twelve diverse low, middle and high income countries of the Pacific Rim: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States of America, and Vietnam. Formal negotiations have been underway since 2008, since which time new negotiating countries have come onboard. Once signed, the TPP will be a legally binding agreement that regulates trade – and by extension practices – between these nations indefinitely. Although amendment and new members will be possible, the TPP is intended to be a “landmark, 21st-century trade agreement”, establishing new norms for global trade.