From USA-ITA OFF THE CUFF for May 3, 2013
On May 1st, USA-ITA President Julia K. Hughes attended a Global Business Dialogue event titled, “Eleven Plus One: Japan’s Bid to Join the Trans-Pacific Partnership.” The event featured a keynote by Acting U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Demetrios Marantis, as well as remarks by former U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Wendy Cutler, Economic Minister Takeo Mori of the Embassy of Japan, and representatives from key stakeholders from the pork, auto, and service industries and other TPP countries.
Zoellick, now a visiting fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, offered a thoughtful introduction to the day, providing some context about how he sees the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) talks as part of an evolution in trade negotiations from APEC to NAFTA to today with Japan joining the TPP. He also said that his main focus is on "getting TPP done," and that the most important challenge in the negotiations is to achieve results as soon as possible.
Perhaps remembering his experience during the CAFTA negotiations, Zoellick mentioned the need for the TPP to open markets in sensitive sectors, such as textiles and apparel. On this topic, he said that the other TPP parties are waiting for the U.S. to "show its hand" about just how much we are ready to open the U.S. market.
Most of the discussion centered on Japan, how the leadership in Japan made the decision (which was surprising to many) to join the TPP and agree to open the Japanese market, and how Japan may change the TPP talks. For many U.S. companies outside the apparel sector, the expansion of TPP to Japan suddenly makes the TPP look more valuable for their business.
The lunch speaker, Acting US Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis, spoke about how exciting it was to participate in the recent APEC meetings where Japan was officially invited to join the TPP. He also said that one of the most "challenging" issues in the TPP is working with Vietnam on the textile and apparel issues. Repeating comments made at other events, Marantis said that the U.S. wants to balance "sensitivities" in this sector with the need to allow Vietnam to achieve something meaningful. This sends a clear message to USA-ITA and our member companies that we need to stay engaged in the TPP talks—and we will!
For more information on the Global Business Dialogue, visit www.gbdinc.org.