Summary of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement
On October 4, 2015, Ministers of the 12 Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) countries – Australia, Brunei Darussalam,
Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, United States, and Vietnam – announced conclusion
of their negotiations. The result is a high-standard, ambitious, comprehensive, and balanced agreement that will promote
economic growth; support the creation and retention of jobs; enhance innovation, productivity and competitiveness; raise
living standards; reduce poverty in our countries; and promote transparency, good governance, and enhanced labor and
environmental protections. We envision conclusion of this agreement, with its new and high standards for trade and
investment in the Asia Pacific, as an important step toward our ultimate goal of open trade and regional integration
across the region.
KEY FEATURES
Five defining features make the Trans-Pacific Partnership a landmark 21st-century agreement, setting a new standard for
global trade while taking up next-generation issues. These features include:
• Comprehensive market access. The TPP eliminates or reduces tariff and non-tariff barriers across substantially
all trade in goods and services and covers the full spectrum of trade, including goods and services trade and
investment, so as to create new opportunities and benefits for our businesses, workers, and consumers.
• Regional approach to commitments. The TPP facilitates the development of production and supply chains, and
seamless trade, enhancing efficiency and supporting our goal of creating and supporting jobs, raising living standards,
enhancing conservation efforts, and facilitating cross-border integration, as well as opening domestic markets.
• Addressing new trade challenges. The TPP promotes innovation, productivity, and competitiveness by addressing
new issues, including the development of the digital economy, and the role of state-owned enterprises in the global
economy.
• Inclusive trade. The TPP includes new elements that seek to ensure that economies at all levels of development
and businesses of all sizes can benefit from trade. It includes commitments to help small- and medium-sized businesses
understand the Agreement, take advantage of its opportunities, and bring their unique challenges to the attention of the
TPP governments. It also includes specific commitments on development and trade capacity building, to ensure that all
Parties are able to meet the commitments in the Agreement and take full advantage of its benefits.
• Platform for regional integration. The TPP is intended as a platform for regional economic integration and
designed to include additional economies across the Asia-Pacific region.
SCOPE
• The TPP includes 30 chapters covering trade and trade-related issues, beginning with trade in goods and
continuing through customs and trade facilitation; sanitary and phytosanitary measures; technical barriers to trade;
trade remedies; investment; services; electronic commerce; government procurement; intellectual property; labour;
environment; ‘horizontal’ chapters meant to ensure that TPP fulfils its potential for development, competitiveness, and
inclusiveness; dispute settlement, exceptions, and institutional provisions.
• In addition to updating traditional approaches to issues covered by previous free trade agreements (FTAs), the
TPP incorporates new and emerging trade issues and cross-cutting issues. These include issues related to the Internet
and the digital economy, the participation of state-owned enterprises in international trade and investment, the ability
of small businesses to take advantage of trade agreements, and other topics.
• TPP unites a diverse group of countries – diverse by geography, language and history, size, and levels of
development. All TPP countries recognize that diversity is a unique asset, but also one which requires close
cooperation, capacity-building for the lesser-developed TPP countries, and in some cases special transitional periods
and mechanisms which offer some TPP partners additional time, where warranted, to develop capacity to implement new
obligations.
SETTING REGIONAL TRADE RULES
Below is a summary of the TPP’s 30 chapters. Schedules and annexes are attached to the chapters of the Agreement related
to goods and services trade, investment, government procurement, and temporary entry of business persons. In addition,
the State-Owned Enterprises chapter includes country-specific exceptions in annexes.
1. Initial Provisions and General Definitions
Many TPP Parties have existing agreements with one another. The Initial Provisions and General Definitions Chapter
recognizes that the TPP can coexist with other international trade agreements between the Parties, including the WTO
Agreement, bilateral, and regional agreements. It also provides definitions of terms used in more than one chapter of
the Agreement.
2. Trade in Goods
TPP Parties agree to eliminate and reduce tariffs and non-tariff barriers on industrial goods, and to eliminate or
reduce tariffs and other restrictive policies on agricultural goods. The preferential access provided through the TPP
will increase trade between the TPP countries in this market of 800 million people and will support high-quality jobs in
all 12 Parties. Most tariff elimination in industrial goods will be implemented immediately, although tariffs on some
products will be eliminated over longer timeframes as agreed by the TPP Parties. The specific tariff cuts agreed by the
TPP Parties are included in schedules covering all goods. The TPP Parties will publish all tariffs and other information
related to goods trade to ensure that small- and medium-sized businesses as well as large companies can take advantage
of the TPP. They also agree not to use performance requirements, which are conditions such as local production
requirements that some countries impose on companies in order for them to obtain tariff benefits. In addition, they
agree not to impose WTO-inconsistent import and export restrictions and duties, including on remanufactured goods –
which will promote recycling of parts into new products. If TPP Parties maintain import or export license requirements,
they will notify each other about the procedures so as to increase transparency and facilitate trade flows.
On agricultural products, the Parties will eliminate or reduce tariffs and other restrictive policies, which will
increase agricultural trade in the region, and enhance food security. In addition to eliminating or reducing tariffs,
TPP Parties agree to promote policy reforms, including by eliminating agricultural export subsidies, working together in
the WTO to develop disciplines on export state trading enterprises, export credits, and limiting the timeframes allowed
for restrictions on food exports so as to provide greater food security in the region. The TPP Parties have also agreed
to increased transparency and cooperation on certain activities related to agricultural biotechnology.
3. Textiles and Apparel
The TPP Parties agree to eliminate tariffs on textiles and apparel, industries which are important contributors to
economic growth in several TPP Parties’ markets. Most tariffs will be eliminated immediately, although tariffs on some
sensitive products will be eliminated over longer timeframes as agreed by the TPP Parties. The chapter also includes
specific rules of origin that require use of yarns and fabrics from the TPP region, which will promote regional supply
chains and investment in this sector, with a “short supply list” mechanism that allows use of certain yarns and fabrics
not widely available in the region. In addition, the chapter includes commitments on customs cooperation and enforcement
to prevent duty evasion, smuggling and fraud, as well as a textile-specific special safeguard to respond to serious
damage or the threat of serious damage to domestic industry in the event of a sudden surge in imports.
4. Rules of Origin
To provide simple rules of origin, promote regional supply chains, and help ensure the TPP countries rather than
non-participants are the primary beneficiaries of the Agreement, the 12 Parties have agreed on a single set of rules of
origin that define whether a particular good is “originating” and therefore eligible to receive TPP preferential tariff
benefits. The product-specific rules of origin are attached to the text of the Agreement. The TPP provides for
“accumulation,” so that in general, inputs from one TPP Party are treated the same as materials from any other TPP
Party, if used to produce a product in any TPP Party. The TPP Parties also have set rules that ensure businesses can
easily operate across the TPP region, by creating a common TPP-wide system of showing and verifying that goods made in
the TPP meet the rules of origin. Importers will be able to claim preferential tariff treatment as long as they have the
documentation to support their claim. In addition, the chapter provides the competent authorities with the procedures to
verify claims appropriately.
5. Customs Administration and Trade Facilitation
Complementing their WTO efforts to facilitate trade, the TPP Parties have agreed on rules to enhance the facilitation of
trade, improve transparency in customs procedures, and ensure integrity in customs administration. These rules will help
TPP businesses, including small- and medium-sized businesses, by encouraging smooth processing in customs and border
procedures, and promote regional supply chains. TPP Parties have agreed to transparent rules, including publishing their
customs laws and regulations, as well as providing for release of goods without unnecessary delay and on bond or
‘payment under protest’ where customs has not yet made a decision on the amount of duties or fees owed. They agree to
advance rulings on customs valuation and other matters that will help businesses, both large and small, trade with
predictability. They also agree to disciplines on customs penalties that will help ensure these penalties are
administered in an impartial and transparent manner. Due to the importance of express shipping to business sectors
including small- and medium-sized companies, the TPP countries have agreed to provide expedited customs procedures for
express shipments. To help counter smuggling and duty evasion, the TPP Parties agree to provide information, when
requested, to help each other enforce their respective customs laws.
6. Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures
In developing SPS rules, the TPP Parties have advanced their shared interest in ensuring transparent, non-discriminatory
rules based on science, and reaffirmed their right to protect human, animal or plant life or health in their countries.
The TPP builds on WTO SPS rules for identifying and managing risks in a manner that is no more trade restrictive than
necessary. TPP Parties agree to allow the public to comment on proposed SPS measures to inform their decision-making,
and to ensure traders understand the rules they will need to follow. They agree that import programmes are based on the
risks associated with importations, and that import checks are carried out without undue delay. The Parties also agree
that emergency measures necessary for the protection of human, animal, or plant life or health may be taken provided
that the Party taking them notifies all other Parties. The Party adopting an emergency measure will review the
scientific basis of that measure within six months and make available the results of these reviews to any Party on
request. In addition, TPP Parties commit to improve information exchange related to equivalency or regionalisation
requests and to promote systems-based audits to assess the effectiveness of regulatory controls of the exporting Party.
In an effort to rapidly resolve SPS matters that emerge between them, they have agreed to establish a mechanism for
consultations between governments.
7. Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT)
In developing TBT rules, the TPP Parties have agreed on transparent, non-discriminatory rules for developing technical
regulations, standards and conformity assessment procedures, while preserving TPP Parties’ ability to fulfill legitimate
objectives. They agree to cooperate to ensure that technical regulations and standards do not create unnecessary
barriers to trade. To reduce costs for TPP businesses, especially small businesses, TPP Parties agree to rules that will
facilitate the acceptance of the results of conformity assessment procedures from the conformity assessment bodies in
the other TPP Parties, making it easier for companies to access TPP markets. Under the TPP, Parties are required to
allow for the public to comment on proposed technical regulations, standards, and conformity assessment procedures to
inform their regulatory processes and to ensure traders understand the rules they will need to follow. They also will
ensure a reasonable interval between publication of technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures, and
their entry into force, so that businesses have sufficient time to meet the new requirements. In addition, the TPP
includes annexes related to regulation of specific sectors to promote common regulatory approaches across the TPP
region. These sectors are cosmetics, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, information and communications technology
products, wine and distilled spirits, proprietary formulas for prepackaged foods and food additives, and organic
agricultural products.
8. Trade Remedies
The Trade Remedies chapter promotes transparency and due process in trade remedy proceedings through recognition of best
practices, but does not affect the TPP Parties’ rights and obligations under the WTO. The chapter provides for a
transitional safeguard mechanism, which allows a Party to apply a transitional safeguard measure during a certain period
of time if import increases as a result of the tariff cuts implemented under the TPP cause serious injury to a domestic
industry. These measures may be maintained for up to two years, with a one-year extension, but must be progressively
liberalized if they last longer than a year. Parties imposing safeguard measures must follow notification and
consultation requirements. The chapter also sets out rules requiring that a TPP Party applying a transitional safeguard
measure provide mutually-agreed compensation. The Parties may not impose more than one of the safeguards allowed under
TPP on the same product at the same time. The Parties may not impose a transitional safeguard measure on any product
imported under a TPP tariff rate quota, and may exclude TPP products from a WTO safeguard measure if such imports are
not a cause or threat of serious injury.
9. Investment
In establishing investment rules, the TPP Parties set out rules requiring non-discriminatory investment policies and
protections that assure basic rule of law protections, while protecting the ability of Parties’ governments to achieve
legitimate public policy objectives. TPP provides the basic investment protections found in other investment-related
agreements, including national treatment; most-favored-nation treatment; “minimum standard of treatment” for investments
in accordance with customary international law principles; prohibition of expropriation that is not for public purpose,
without due process, or without compensation; prohibition on “performance requirements” such as local content or
technology localization requirements; free transfer of funds related to an investment, subject to exceptions in the TPP
to ensure that governments retain the flexibility to manage volatile capital flows, including through non-discriminatory
temporary safeguard measures (such as capital controls) restricting investment-related transfers in the context of a
balance of payments crisis or the threat thereof, and certain other economic crises or to protect the integrity and
stability of the financial system; and freedom to appoint senior management positions of any nationality.
TPP Parties adopt a “negative-list” basis, meaning that their markets are fully open to foreign investors, except where
they have taken an exception (non-conforming measure) in one of two country-specific annexes: (1) current measures on
which a Party accepts an obligation not to make its measures more restrictive in the future and to bind any future
liberalization, and (2) measures and policies on which a Party retains full discretion in the future.
The chapter also provides for neutral and transparent international arbitration of investment disputes, with strong
safeguards to prevent abusive and frivolous claims and ensure the right of governments to regulate in the public
interest, including on health, safety, and environmental protection. The procedural safeguards include: transparent
arbitral proceedings, amicus curiae submissions, non-disputing Party submissions; expedited review of frivolous claims and possible award of attorneys’
fees; review procedure for an interim award; binding joint interpretations by TPP Parties; time limits on bringing a
claim; and rules to prevent a claimant pursuing the same claim in parallel proceedings.
10. Cross-Border Trade in Services
Given the growing importance of services trade to TPP Parties, the 12 countries share an interest in liberalized trade
in this area. TPP includes core obligations found in the WTO and other trade agreements: national treatment;
most-favoured nation treatment; market access, which provides that no TPP country may impose quantitative restrictions
on the supply of services (e.g., a limit on the number of suppliers or number of transactions) or require a specific type of legal entity or joint
venture; and local presence, which means that no country may require a supplier from another country to establish an
office or affiliate, or to be resident, in its territory in order to supply a service. TPP Parties accept these
obligations on a “negative-list basis,” meaning that their markets are fully open to services suppliers from TPP
countries, except where they have taken an exception (non-conforming measure) in one of two country-specific annexes
attached to the Agreement : (1) current measures on which a Party accepts an obligation not to make its measures more
restrictive in the future, and to bind any future liberalisation, and (2) sectors and policies on which a country
retains full discretion in the future.
TPP Parties also agree to administer measures of general application in a reasonable, objective, and impartial manner;
and to accept requirements for transparency in the development of new services regulations. Benefits of the chapter can
be denied to shell companies and to a service supplier owned by non-Parties with which a TPP Party prohibits certain
transactions. TPP Parties agree to permit free transfer of funds related to the cross-border supply of a service. In
addition, the chapter includes a professional services annex encouraging cooperative work on licensing recognition and
other regulatory issues, and an annex on express delivery services.
11. Financial Services
The TPP Financial Services chapter will provide important cross-border and investment market access opportunities, while
ensuring that Parties will retain the ability to regulate financial markets and institutions and to take emergency
measures in the event of crisis. The chapter includes core obligations found in other trade agreements, including:
national treatment; most-favored nation treatment; market access; and certain provisions under the Investment chapter,
including the minimum standard of treatment. It provides for the sale of certain financial services across borders to a
TPP Party from a supplier in another TPP Party rather than requiring suppliers to establish operations in the other
country in order to sell their service – subject to registration or authorization of cross-border financial services
suppliers of another TPP Party in order to help assure appropriate regulation and oversight. A supplier of a TPP Party
may provide a new financial service in another TPP market if domestic companies in that market are allowed to do so. TPP
Parties have country-specific exceptions to some of these rules in two annexes attached to the TPP: (1) current measures
on which a Party accepts an obligation not to make its measures more restrictive in the future and to bind any future
liberalization, and (2) measures and policies on which a country retains full discretion in the future.
TPP Parties also set out rules that formally recognize the importance of regulatory procedures to expedite the offering
of insurance services by licensed suppliers and procedures to achieve this outcome. In addition, the TPP includes
specific commitments on portfolio management, electronic payment card services, and transfer of information for data
processing.
The Financial Services chapter provides for the resolution of disputes relating to certain provisions through neutral
and transparent investment arbitration. It includes specific provisions on investment disputes related to the minimum
standard of treatment, as well as provisions requiring arbitrators to have financial services expertise, and a special
State-to-State mechanism to facilitate the application of the prudential exception and other exceptions in the chapter
in the context of investment disputes. Finally, it includes exceptions to preserve broad discretion for TPP financial
regulators to take measures to promote financial stability and the integrity of their financial system, including a
prudential exception and exception of non-discriminatory measures in pursuit of monetary or certain other policies.
12. Temporary Entry for Business Persons
The Temporary Entry for Business Persons chapter encourages authorities of TPP Parties to provide information on
applications for temporary entry, to ensure that application fees are reasonable, and to make decisions on applications
and inform applicants of decisions as quickly as possible. TPP Parties agree to ensure that information on requirements
for temporary entry are readily available to the public, including by publishing information promptly and online if
possible, and providing explanatory materials. The Parties agree to ongoing cooperation on temporary entry issues such
as visa processing. Almost all TPP Parties have made commitments on access for each other’s business persons, which are
in country-specific annexes.
13. Telecommunications
TPP Parties share an interest in ensuring efficient and reliable telecommunications networks in their countries. These
networks are critical to companies both large and small for providing services. TPP’s pro-competitive network access
rules cover mobile suppliers. TPP Parties commit to ensure that major telecommunications services suppliers in their
territory provide interconnection, leased circuit services, co-location, and access to poles and other facilities under
reasonable terms and conditions and in a timely manner. They also commit, where a license is required, to ensure
transparency in regulatory processes and that regulations do not generally discriminate against specific technologies.
And they commit to administer their procedures for the allocation and use of scarce telecommunications resources,
including frequencies, numbers and rights-of-way, in an objective, timely, transparent and non-discriminatory manner.
TPP Parties recognize the importance of relying on market forces and commercial negotiations in the telecommunications
sector. They also agree that they may take steps to promote competition in international mobile roaming services and
facilitate the use of alternatives to roaming. TPP Parties agree that, if a Party chooses to regulate rates for
wholesale international mobile roaming services, that Party shall permit operators from the TPP countries that do not
regulate such rates the opportunity to also benefit from the lower rates.
14. Electronic Commerce
In the Electronic Commerce chapter, TPP Parties commit to ensuring free flow of the global information and data that
drive the Internet and the digital economy, subject to legitimate public policy objectives such as personal information
protection. The 12 Parties also agree not to require that TPP companies build data centers to store data as a condition
for operating in a TPP market, and, in addition, that source code of software is not required to be transferred or
accessed. The chapter prohibits the imposition of customs duties on electronic transmissions, and prevents TPP Parties
from favoring national producers or suppliers of such products through discriminatory measures or outright blocking. To
protect consumers, TPP Parties agree to adopt and maintain consumer protection laws related to fraudulent and deceptive
commercial activities online and to ensure that privacy and other consumer protections can be enforced in TPP markets.
Parties also are required to have measures to stop unsolicited commercial electronic messages. To facilitate electronic
commerce, the chapter includes provisions encouraging TPP Parties to promote paperless trading between businesses and
the government, such as electronic customs forms; and providing for electronic authentication and signatures for
commercial transactions. A number of obligations in this chapter are subject to relevant non-conforming measures of
individual TPP members. The 12 Parties agree to cooperate to help small- and medium-sized business take advantage of
electronic commerce, and the chapter encourages cooperation on policies regarding personal information protection,
online consumer protection, cybersecurity threats and cybersecurity capacity.
15. Government Procurement
TPP Parties share an interest in accessing each other’s large government procurement markets through transparent,
predictable, and non-discriminatory rules. In the Government Procurement chapter, TPP Parties commit to core disciplines
of national treatment and non-discrimination. They also agree to publish relevant information in a timely manner, to
allow sufficient time for suppliers to obtain the tender documentation and submit a bid, to treat tenders fairly and
impartially, and to maintain confidentiality of tenders. In addition, the Parties agree to use fair and objective
technical specifications, to award contracts based solely on the evaluation criteria specified in the notices and tender
documentation, and to establish due process procedures to question or review complaints about an award. Each Party
agrees to a positive list of entities and activities that are covered by the chapter, which are listed in annexes.
16. Competition Policy
TPP Parties share an interest in ensuring a framework of fair competition in the region through rules that require TPP
Parties to maintain legal regimes that prohibit anticompetitive business conduct, as well as fraudulent and deceptive
commercial activities that harm consumers.
TPP Parties agree to adopt or maintain national competition laws that proscribe anticompetitive business conduct and
work to apply these laws to all commercial activities in their territories. To ensure that such laws are effectively
implemented, TPP Parties agree to establish or maintain authorities responsible for the enforcement of national
competition laws, and adopt or maintain laws or regulations that proscribe fraudulent and deceptive commercial
activities that cause harm or potential harm to consumers. Parties also agree to cooperate, as appropriate, on matters
of mutual interest related to competition activities. The 12 Parties agree to obligations on due process and procedural
fairness, as well as private rights of action for injury caused by a violation of a Party’s national competition law. In
addition, TPP Parties agree to cooperate in the area of competition policy and competition law enforcement, including
through notification, consultation and exchange of information. The chapter is not subject to the dispute settlement
provisions of the TPP, but TPP Parties may consult on concerns related to the chapter.
17. State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) and Designated Monopolies
All TPP Parties have SOEs, which often play a role in providing public services and other activities, but TPP Parties
recognize the benefit of agreeing on a framework of rules on SOEs. The SOE chapter covers large SOEs that are
principally engaged in commercial activities. Parties agree to ensure that their SOEs make commercial purchases and
sales on the basis of commercial considerations, except when doing so would be inconsistent with any mandate under which
an SOE is operating that would require it to provide public services. They also agree to ensure that their SOEs or
designated monopolies do not discriminate against the enterprises, goods, and services of other Parties. Parties agree
to provide their courts with jurisdiction over commercial activities of foreign SOEs in their territory, and to ensure
that administrative bodies regulating both SOEs and private companies do so in an impartial manner. TPP Parties agree to
not cause adverse effects to the interests of other TPP Parties in providing non-commercial assistance to SOEs, or
injury to another Party’s domestic industry by providing non-commercial assistance to an SOE that produces and sells
goods in that other Party’s territory. TPP Parties agree to share a list of their SOEs with the other TPP Parties and to
provide, upon request, additional information about the extent of government ownership or control and the non-commercial
assistance they provide to SOEs. There are some exceptions from the obligations in the chapter, for example, where there
is a national or global economy emergency, as well as country-specific exceptions that are set out in annexes.
18. Intellectual Property
TPP’s Intellectual Property (IP) chapter covers patents, trademarks, copyrights, industrial designs, geographical
indications, trade secrets, other forms of intellectual property, and enforcement of intellectual property rights, as
well as areas in which Parties agree to cooperate. The IP chapter will make it easier for businesses to search,
register, and protect IP rights in new markets, which is particularly important for small businesses.
The chapter establishes standards for patents, based on the WTO’s TRIPS Agreement and international best practices. On
trademarks, it provides protections of brand names and other signs that businesses and individuals use to distinguish
their products in the marketplace. The chapter also requires certain transparency and due process safeguards with
respect to the protection of new geographical indications, including for geographical indications recognized or
protected through international agreements. These include confirmation of understandings on the relationship between
trademarks and geographical indications, as well as safeguards regarding the use of commonly used terms.
In addition, the chapter contains pharmaceutical-related provisions that facilitate both the development of innovative,
life-saving medicines and the availability of generic medicines, taking into account the time that various Parties may
need to meet these standards. The chapter includes commitments relating to the protection of undisclosed test and other
data submitted to obtain marketing approval of a new pharmaceutical or agricultural chemicals product. It also reaffirms
Parties’ commitment to the WTO’s 2001 Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health, and in particular confirms
that Parties are not prevented from taking measures to protect public health, including in the case of epidemics such as
HIV/AIDS.
In copyright, the IP chapter establishes commitments requiring protection for works, performances, and phonograms such
as songs, movies, books, and software, and includes effective and balanced provisions on technological protection
measures and rights management information. As a complement to these commitments, the chapter includes an obligation for
Parties to continuously seek to achieve balance in copyright systems through among other things, exceptions and
limitations for legitimate purposes, including in the digital environment. The chapter requires Parties to establish or
maintain a framework of copyright safe harbors for Internet Service Providers (ISPs). These obligations do not permit
Parties to make such safe harbors contingent on ISPs monitoring their systems for infringing activity.
Finally, TPP Parties agree to provide strong enforcement systems, including, for example, civil procedures, provisional
measures, border measures, and criminal procedures and penalties for commercial-scale trademark counterfeiting and
copyright or related rights piracy. In particular, TPP Parties will provide the legal means to prevent the
misappropriation of trade secrets, and establish criminal procedures and penalties for trade secret theft, including by
means of cyber-theft, and for cam-cording.
19. Labour
All TPP Parties are International Labour Organization (ILO) members and recognize the importance of promoting
internationally recognized labour rights. TPP Parties agree to adopt and maintain in their laws and practices the
fundamental labour rights as recognized in the ILO 1998 Declaration, namely freedom of association and the right to
collective bargaining; elimination of forced labour; abolition of child labour and a prohibition on the worst forms of
child labour; and elimination of discrimination in employment. They also agree to have laws governing minimum wages,
hours of work, and occupational safety and health. These commitments also apply to export processing zones. The 12
Parties agree not to waive or derogate from laws implementing fundamental labour rights in order to attract trade or
investment, and not to fail to effectively enforce their labour laws in a sustained or recurring pattern that would
affect trade or investment between the TPP Parties. In addition to commitments by Parties to eliminate forced labour in
their own countries, the Labour chapter includes commitments to discourage importation of goods that are produced by
forced labour or child labour, or that contain inputs produced by forced labour, regardless of whether the source
country is a TPP Party. Each of the 12 TPP Parties commits to ensure access to fair, equitable and transparent
administrative and judicial proceedings and to provide effective remedies for violations of its labour laws. They also
agree to public participation in implementation of the Labour chapter, including establishing mechanisms to obtain
public input.
The commitments in the chapter are subject to the dispute settlement procedures laid out in the Dispute Settlement
chapter. To promote the rapid resolution of labour issues between TPP Parties, the Labour chapter also establishes a
labour dialogue that Parties may choose to use to try to resolve any labour issue between them that arises under the
chapter. This dialogue allows for expeditious consideration of matters and for Parties to mutually agree to a course of
action to address issues. The Labour chapter establishes a mechanism for cooperation on labour issues, including
opportunities for stakeholder input in identifying areas of cooperation and participation, as appropriate and jointly
agreed, in cooperative activities.
20. Environment
As home to a significant portion of the world’s people, wildlife, plants and marine species, TPP Parties share a strong
commitment to protecting and conserving the environment, including by working together to address environmental
challenges, such as pollution, illegal wildlife trafficking, illegal logging, illegal fishing, and protection of the
marine environment. The 12 Parties agree to effectively enforce their environmental laws; and not to weaken
environmental laws in order to encourage trade or investment. They also agree to fulfil their obligations under the
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and to take measures to combat
and cooperate to prevent trade in wild fauna and flora that has been taken illegally. In addition, the Parties agree to
promote sustainable forest management, and to protect and conserve wild fauna and flora that they have identified as
being at risk in their territories, including through measures to conserve the ecological integrity of specially
protected natural areas, such as wetlands. In an effort to protect their shared oceans, TPP Parties agree to sustainable
fisheries management, to promote conservation of important marine species, including sharks, to combat illegal fishing,
and to prohibit some of the most harmful fisheries subsidies that negatively affect overfished fish stocks, and that
support illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing. They also agree to enhance transparency related to such subsidy
programs, and to make best efforts to refrain from introducing new subsidies that contribute to overfishing or
overcapacity.
TPP Parties also agree to protect the marine environment from ship pollution and to protect the ozone layer from ozone
depleting substances. They reaffirm their commitment to implement the multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) they
have joined. The Parties commit to provide transparency in environmental decision-making, implementation and
enforcement. In addition, the Parties agree to provide opportunities for public input in implementation of the
Environment chapter, including through public submissions and public sessions of the Environment Committee established
to oversee chapter implementation. The chapter is subject to the dispute settlement procedure laid out in the Dispute
Settlement chapter. The Parties further agree to encourage voluntary environmental initiatives, such as corporate social
responsibility programs. Finally, the Parties commit to cooperate to address matters of joint or common interest,
including in the areas of conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, and transition to low-emissions and
resilient economies.
21. Cooperation and Capacity Building
The economies of the 12 TPP Parties are diverse. All Parties recognise that the TPP lesser-developed Parties may face
particular challenges in implementing the Agreement, and in taking full advantage of the opportunities it creates. To
address these challenges, the Cooperation and Capacity Building chapter establishes a Committee on Cooperation and
Capacity Building to identify and review areas for potential cooperative and capacity building efforts. Parties’
activities are on a mutually agreed basis and subject to the availability of resources. This Committee will facilitate
exchange of information to help with requests related to cooperation and capacity building.
22. Competitiveness and Business Facilitation
The Competitiveness and Business Facilitation chapter aims to help the TPP reach its potential to improve the
competitiveness of the participating countries, and the Asia-Pacific region as a whole. The chapter creates formal
mechanisms to review the impact of the TPP on competitiveness of the Parties, through dialogues among governments and
between government, business, and civil society, with a particular focus on deepening regional supply chains, to assess
progress, take advantage of new opportunities, and address any challenges that may emerge once the TPP is in force.
Among these will be the Committee on Competitiveness and Business Facilitation, which will meet regularly to review the
TPP’s impact on regional and national competitiveness, and on regional economic integration. The Committee will consider
advice and recommendations from stakeholders on ways the TPP can further enhance competitiveness, including enhancing
the participation of micro, small- and medium-sized enterprises in regional supply chains. The chapter also establishes
a basic framework for Committee to assess supply chain performance under the Agreement, including ways to promote SME
participation in supply chains; and review of stakeholder and expert input.
23. Development
The TPP Parties seek to ensure that the TPP will be a high-standard model for trade and economic integration, and in
particular to ensure that all TPP Parties can obtain the complete benefits of the TPP, are fully able to implement their
commitments, and emerge as more prosperous societies with strong markets. The Development chapter includes three
specific areas to be considered for collaborative work once TPP enters into force for each Party: (1) broad-based
economic growth, including sustainable development, poverty reduction, and promotion of small businesses; (2) women and
economic growth, including helping women build capacity and skill, enhancing women’s access to markets, obtaining
technology and financing, establishing women’s leadership networks, and identifying best practices in workplace
flexibility; and (3) education, science and technology, research, and innovation. The chapter establishes a TPP
Development Committee, which will meet regularly to promote voluntary cooperative work in these areas and new
opportunities as they arise.
24. Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises
TPP Parties have a shared interest in promoting the participation of small- and medium-sized enterprises in trade and to
ensure that small- and medium-sized enterprises share in the benefits of the TPP. Complementing the commitments
throughout other chapters of the TPP on market access, paperwork reduction, Internet access, trade facilitation, express
delivery and others, the Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprise chapter includes commitments by each TPP Party to create a
user-friendly websites targeted at small- and medium-sized enterprise users to provide easily accessible information on
the TPP and ways small firms can take advantage of it, including description of the provisions of TPP relevant to small-
and medium-sized enterprises; regulations and procedures concerning intellectual property rights; foreign investment
regulations; business registration procedures; employment regulations; and taxation information. In addition, the
chapter establishes a Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises Committee that will meet regularly to review how well the TPP
is serving small- and medium-sized enterprises, consider ways to further enhance its benefits, and oversee cooperation
or capacity building activities to support small- and medium-sized enterprises through export counseling, assistance,
and training programs for small- and medium-sized enterprises; information sharing; trade finance; and other activities.
25. Regulatory Coherence
TPP’s Regulatory Coherence chapter will help ensure an open, fair, and predictable regulatory environment for businesses
operating in the TPP markets by encouraging transparency, impartiality, and coordination across each government to
achieve a coherent regulatory approach. The chapter aims to facilitate regulatory coherence in each TPP country by
promoting mechanisms for effective interagency consultation and coordination for agencies. It encourages widely-accepted
good regulatory practices, such as impact assessments of proposed regulatory measures, communication of the grounds for
the selection of chosen regulatory alternatives and the nature of the regulation being introduced. The chapter also
includes provisions to help ensure regulations are written clearly and concisely, that the public has access to
information on new regulatory measures, if possible online, and that existing regulatory measures are periodically
reviewed to determine if they remain the most effective means of achieving the desired objective. In addition, it
encourages TPP Parties to provide an annual public notice of all regulatory measures it expects to take. Toward these
ends, the chapter establishes a Committee which will give TPP countries, businesses, and civil society continuing
opportunities to report on implementation, share experiences on best practices, and consider potential areas for
cooperation. The chapter does not in any way affect the rights of TPP Parties to regulate for public health, safety,
security, and other public interest reasons.
26. Transparency and Anti-Corruption
The TPP’s Transparency and Anti-Corruption chapter aims to promote the goal, shared by all TPP Parties, of strengthening
good governance and addressing the corrosive effects bribery and corruption can have on their economies. Under the
Transparency and Anti-Corruption chapter, TPP Parties need to ensure that their laws, regulations, and administrative
rulings of general application with respect to any matter covered by the TPP are publicly available and that, to the
extent possible, regulations that are likely to affect trade or investment between the Parties are subject to notice and
comment. TPP Parties agree to ensure certain due process rights for TPP stakeholders in connection with administrative
proceedings, including prompt review through impartial judicial or administrative tribunals or procedures. They also
agree to adopt or maintain laws criminalising offering to, or solicitation of, undue advantages by a public official, as
well as other acts of corruption affecting international trade or investment. Parties also commit to effectively enforce
their anticorruption laws and regulations. In addition, they agree to endeavor to adopt or maintain codes or standards
of conduct for their public officials, as well as measures to identify and manage conflicts of interest, to increase
training of public officials, to take steps to discourage gifts, to facilitate reporting of acts of corruption, and to
provide for disciplinary or other measures for public officials engaging in acts of corruption. In an Annex to this
chapter, TPP Parties also agree to provisions that promote transparency and procedural fairness with respect to listing
and reimbursement for pharmaceutical products or medical devices. Commitments in this annex are not subject to dispute
settlement procedures.
27. Administrative and Institutional Provisions
The Administrative and Institutional Provisions Chapter sets out the institutional framework by which the Parties will
assess and guide implementation or operation of the TPP, in particular by establishing the Trans-Pacific Partnership
Commission, composed of Ministers or senior level officials, to oversee the implementation or operation of the Agreement
and guide its future evolution. This Commission will review the economic relationship and partnership among the Parties
on a periodic basis to ensure that the Agreement remains relevant to the trade and investment challenges confronting the
Parties. The chapter also requires each Party to designate an overall contact point to facilitate communications between
the Parties, and creates a mechanism through which a Party that has a specific transition period for an obligation must
report on its plans for, and progress toward, implementing that obligation. This ensures greater transparency with
respect to the implementation of Parties’ obligations.
28. Dispute Settlement
The Dispute Settlement chapter is intended to allow Parties to expeditiously address disputes between them over
implementation of the TPP. TPP Parties will make every attempt to resolve disputes through cooperation and consultation
and encourage the use of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms when appropriate. When this is not possible, TPP
Parties aim to have these disputes resolved through impartial, unbiased panels. The dispute settlement mechanism created
in this chapter applies across the TPP, with few specific exceptions. The public in each TPP Party will be able to
follow proceedings, since submissions made in disputes will be made available to the public, hearings will be open to
the public unless the disputing Parties otherwise agree, and the final report presented by panels will also be made
available to the public. Panels will consider requests from non-governmental entities located in the territory of any
disputing Party to provide written views regarding the dispute to panels during dispute settlement proceedings.
Should consultations fail to resolve an issue, Parties may request establishment of a panel, which would be established
within 60 days after the date of receipt of a request for consultations or 30 days after the date of receipt of a
request related to perishable goods. Panels will be composed of three international trade and subject matter experts
independent of the disputing Parties, with procedures available to ensure that a panel can be composed even if a Party
fails to appoint a panelist within a set period of time. These panelists will be subject to a code of conduct to ensure
the integrity of the dispute settlement mechanism. They will present an initial report to the disputing Parties within
150 days after the last panelist is appointed or 120 days in cases of urgency, such as cases related to perishable
goods. The initial report will be confidential, to enable Parties to offer comments. The final report must be presented
no later than 30 days after the presentation of the initial report and must be made public within 15 days, subject to
the protection of any confidential information in the report.
To maximize compliance, the Dispute Settlement chapter allows for the use of trade retaliation (e.g., suspension of benefits), if a Party found not to have complied with its obligations fails to bring itself into
compliance with its obligations. Before use of trade retaliation, a Party found in violation can negotiate or arbitrate
a reasonable period of time in which to remedy the breach.
29. Exceptions
The Exceptions Chapter ensures that flexibilities are available to all TPP Parties that guarantee full rights to
regulate in the public interest, including for a Party’s essential security interest and other public welfare reasons.
This chapter incorporates the general exceptions provided for in Article XX of the General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade 1994 to the goods trade-related provisions, specifying that nothing in the TPP shall be construed to prevent the
adoption or enforcement by a Party of measures necessary to, among other things, protect public morals, protect human,
animal or plant life or health, protect intellectual property, enforce measures relating to products of prison labour,
and measures relating to conservation of exhaustible natural resources.
The chapter also contains the similar general exceptions provided for in Article XIV of the General Agreement on Trade
in Services with respect to the services trade-related provisions.
The chapter includes a self-judging exception, applicable to the entire TPP, which makes clear that a Party may take any
measure it considers necessary for the protection of its essential security interests. It also defines the circumstances
and conditions under which a Party may impose temporary safeguard measures (such as capital controls) restricting
transfers – such as contributions to capital, transfers of profits and dividends, payments of interest or royalties, and
payments under a contract – related to covered investments, to ensure that governments retain the flexibility to manage
volatile capital flows, in the contexts of balance of payments or other economic crises, or threats thereof. In
addition, it specifies that no Party is obligated to furnish information under the TPP if it would be contrary to its
law or public interest, or would prejudice the legitimate commercial interests of particular enterprises. A Party may
elect to deny the benefits of Investor-State dispute settlement with respect to a claim challenging a tobacco control
measure of the Party.
30. Final Provisions
The Final Provisions chapter defines the way the TPP will enter into force, the way in which it can be amended, the
rules that establish the process for other States or separate customs territories to join the TPP in the future, the
means by which Parties can withdraw, and the authentic languages of the TPP. It also designates a Depositary for the
Agreement responsible for receiving and disseminating documents.
The chapter ensures that the TPP can be amended, with the agreement of all Parties and after each Party completes its
applicable legal procedures and notifies the Depositary in writing. It specifies that the TPP is open to accession by
members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum and other States or separate customs territories as agreed by the
Parties, again after completing applicable legal procedures in each Party. The Final Provisions chapter also specifies
the procedures under which a Party can withdraw from the TPP.