Just as Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) nations seemed ready to leave Canada behind, the nation has reached an agreement to sign the trade pact.
Renamed the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, the agreement comes after talks in Japan this week, according to CBC News of Canada. With Canada now on board, with the approval of its agriculture sector, the TPP 11 agreement is scheduled for a signing ceremony in March.
A senior Canadian official says the deal also opens Canada’s beef exports to Japan at the expense of America cattle farmers.
U.S.-based National Cattlemen’s Beef Association says the U.S. withdrawal from TPP is a “missed opportunity.” NCBA will have a representative in Canada attending the North American Free Trade Agreement talks later this week. An NCBA spokesperson says: “We encourage negotiators in Montreal to continue building on the progress made in previous rounds so the United States can focus on tearing down trade barriers in Asia and around the world.”
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting News Service.