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Singapore urges US against amending TPP when it gets to US Congress
SINGAPOREAN Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang warned that modifying the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal could unravel the entire 12-nation free trade agreement, reports American Shipper.
Any move by the US Congress to amend a massive Pacific trade pact would risk the deal collapsing, according to the Singapore government.
"Tt's in the interests of all 12 parties that once we agree on the agreement, that we should not go back and modify any part of it because that runs the risk of unravelling the entire agreement," said Mr Lim in an interview in Mexico City.
The US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership, which does not include China, is yet to be ratified by the US and countries including Japan. Mr Lim said it was the clear position of US Trade Representative Michael Froman that the US is "not intending to renegotiate any aspect of the TPP".
Still, passage of the agreement is in doubt because of the opposition of opposing US presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.
The pact goes beyond typical trade agreements that focus mostly on reducing tariffs by highlighting stricter safeguards for patents and levelling the playing field for companies that compete with government-backed businesses.
Any move by the US Congress to amend a massive Pacific trade pact would risk the deal collapsing, according to the Singapore government.
"Tt's in the interests of all 12 parties that once we agree on the agreement, that we should not go back and modify any part of it because that runs the risk of unravelling the entire agreement," said Mr Lim in an interview in Mexico City.
The US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership, which does not include China, is yet to be ratified by the US and countries including Japan. Mr Lim said it was the clear position of US Trade Representative Michael Froman that the US is "not intending to renegotiate any aspect of the TPP".
Still, passage of the agreement is in doubt because of the opposition of opposing US presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.
The pact goes beyond typical trade agreements that focus mostly on reducing tariffs by highlighting stricter safeguards for patents and levelling the playing field for companies that compete with government-backed businesses.
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