The Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement (TPSEP), also known as P4, is a
trade agreement
A trade agreement (also known as trade pact) is a wide-ranging taxes, tariff and trade treaty that often includes investment guarantees. It exists when two or more countries agree on terms that help them trade with each other. The most common tr ...
between four
Pacific Rim countries concerning a variety of matters of
economic policy. The agreement was signed by Brunei, Chile, Singapore and New Zealand in 2005 and entered into force in 2006. It is a comprehensive trade agreement, affecting trade in goods,
rules of origin, trade remedies,
sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, trade in services, intellectual property, government procurement and competition policy. Among other things, it called for reduction by 90 percent of all
tariff
A tariff is a tax imposed by the government of a country or by a supranational union on imports or exports of goods. Besides being a source of revenue for the government, import duties can also be a form of regulation of foreign trade and pol ...
s between member countries by 1 January 2006, and reduction of all trade tariffs to zero by the year 2015.
Earlier agreements
By 2001, New Zealand and Singapore had concluded the
(NZSCEP). The ''Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement'' built on the NZSCEP.
Negotiations
During the 2002
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC ) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region. (APEC) Leaders' Meeting in
Los Cabos
LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to:
Science and technology
* Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation
* Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers
* Level of significance, a measure of statistical significanc ...
, Mexico, Prime Ministers
Helen Clark
Helen Elizabeth Clark (born 26 February 1950) is a New Zealand politician who served as the 37th prime minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008, and was the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme from 2009 to 2017. She was ...
of New Zealand,
Goh Chok Tong
Goh Chok Tong (; born 20 May 1941) is a Singaporean former politician who served as Prime Minister of Singapore between 1990 and 2004, and Secretary-General of the People's Action Party between 1992 and 2004. He was the Member of Parliament (M ...
of Singapore and Chilean President
Ricardo Lagos
Ricardo Froilán Lagos Escobar (; born 2 March 1938) is a Chilean lawyer, economist and social-democratic politician who served as president of Chile from 2000 to 2006. During the 1980s he was a well-known opponent of the Chilean military dic ...
began negotiations on the ''Pacific Three Closer Economic Partnership'' (P3-CEP).
According to the New Zealand Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade,
Brunei first took part as a full negotiating party in April 2005 before the fifth, and final round of talks.
Subsequently, the agreement was renamed to TPSEP (Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership agreement or Pacific-4). Negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement (TPSEP or P4) were concluded by Brunei, Chile, New Zealand and Singapore on 3 June 2005,
and entered into force on 28 May 2006 for New Zealand and Singapore, 12 July 2006 for Brunei, and 8 November 2006 for Chile.
Parties
Although the TPSEP agreement contains an accession clause and affirms the members' "commitment to encourage the accession to this Agreement by other economies", no such accession have taken place.
All four countries were involved however in the negotiations for the
Trans-Pacific Partnership
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), or Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, was a highly contested proposed trade agreement between 12 Pacific Rim economies, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Sin ...
Agreement, about which agreement was reached in 2015 involving eight additional parties.
The TPSEP (and the TPP it grew into) are not APEC initiatives. However, the TPP is considered to be a pathfinder for the proposed
Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC ) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region. (FTAAP), an APEC initiative.
See also
*
Trans-Pacific Partnership
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), or Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, was a highly contested proposed trade agreement between 12 Pacific Rim economies, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Sin ...
*
Pacific Alliance
The Pacific Alliance ( es, link=no, Alianza del Pacífico) is a Latin American trade bloc, formed by Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, which all border the Pacific Ocean. The alliance was formed with the express purpose of improving regional in ...
*
Rules of Origin
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Market access
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Free-trade area
A free-trade area is the region encompassing a trade bloc whose member countries have signed a free trade agreement (FTA). Such agreements involve cooperation between at least two countries to reduce trade barriers, import quotas and tariffs, and ...
*
Tariffs
A tariff is a tax imposed by the government of a country or by a supranational union on imports or exports of goods. Besides being a source of revenue for the government, import duties can also be a form of regulation of foreign trade and po ...
References
External links
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{{Free trade agreements of New Zealand
Trade blocs
Free trade agreements
Treaties of Brunei
Free trade agreements of New Zealand
Free trade agreements of Chile
Trans-Pacific Partnership
Free trade agreements of Singapore
Treaties concluded in 2005
Treaties entered into force in 2006