SINGAPORE HOSTS TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP (TPP) MINISTERIAL MEETING FROM 7 TO 10 DECEMBER 2013

1      Singapore is hosting the TPP Ministerial Meeting in Singapore from today, 7 to 10 December 2013, at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel. The meeting will be attended by Trade Ministers and officials from the 12 TPP Parties – Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, the United States, Vietnam and Singapore.

2      The TPP is envisioned as a high-standard, comprehensive and forward-looking trade agreement that aims to address the challenges of the modern economy. The agreement will cover both new and traditional trade and investment issues, and seeks to create jobs and promote economic development, in a bold step towards establishing a free trade agreement for the Asia Pacific. Besides tackling issues such as trade liberalisation in goods, services, investments, and government procurement, the TPP will include areas such as intellectual property rights, technical barriers to trade, sanitary and phytosanitary standards, competition policy, labour and environment. It will also incorporate new trade facilitation elements, such as the promotion of regulatory coherence, enhancement of cross-border supply chain connectivity and the facilitation of SMEs among TPP members.