crafting the trans-pacific partnership as a true model 21st century trade agreement
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The Obama Administration is wisely moving forward with a landmark trade agreement called the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Ideally, it will increase regional economic integration between the U.S. and eight other Asia-Pacific nations. But in a new report, Gold-Standard or WTO-Lite? Shaping the Trans-Pacific Partnership, ITIF questions whether the TPP will truly raise the bar for fair, market-based trade or allow the continuation of rampant mercantilist practices such as intellectual property theft, non-tariff barriers, discriminatory government procurement practices and other practices that have hurt U.S. economic growth and invited skepticism of global trade.TRANSCRIPT
Crafting the Trans-Pacific Partnership as a True Model 21st Century Trade Agreement
Robert D. Atkinson
President
Information Technology and Innovation Foundation
May 25, 2011
Innovation Mercantilism is Widespread
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1. The global economic system has become increasingly distorted, as an increasing number of nations have embraced innovation mercantilism.
2. Innovation mercantilism is designed to promote trade surpluses through a variety of negative-sum activities: Pricing under cost (dumping, subsidies, currency manipulation); Limiting imports (closed markets, forced offsets/tech transfer, standards
manipulation, IP theft, indigenous innovation policies).
The U.S. Has 3 Possible Responses
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1) Do Nothing:
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After All Mercantilists Only Hurt Themselves
2) Don’t Fight; Switch
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Match Their Mercantilism With Our Own
3) Don’t Switch; Fight!:
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Systemically Challenge Mercantilists and Mercantilist Practices, While Crafting Stronger Alliances with Free Traders.
The WTO Process Has Proved Limited as a Vehicle to Fight Mercantilism
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The TPP Provides a New Opportunity to Constrain Mercantilism
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The TPP is A free trade agreement the Obama Administration is negotiating entrance into to increase regional economic integration across nine Asia-Pacific nations: Australia Brunei Darussalam, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand Peru, Singapore, Vietnam U.S.
The TPP Provides a New Opportunity to Constrain Mercantilism
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But only if the United States insists on a “Gold Standard” TPP Framework.
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TPP Partners Must Better Protect IP Rights TPP Members Must Commit to Open and Non-
Discriminatory Government Procurement Non-preferential Treatment of State-owned Enterprises Services Trade Liberalization Market Access Eliminating Non-tariff Barriers
What a “Gold-standard TPP” Needs to Achieve
Success is NOT signing new trade agreements.
Success IS signing agreements that moves the
global trading system decisively away from mercantilism, while building a growing “coalition of the ‘market-based’.”
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No Need for a Quick Win
If the TPP is anything
less than a gold standard agreement, the U.S. should decline to join.
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No Need for a Quick Win
Robert Atkinson [email protected]
Facebook: facebook.com/innovationpolicy
Blog: www.innovationpolicy.org
YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/techpolicy
Website: www.itif.org
Twitter: @robatkinsonitif
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