Canada approves CPTPP implementing bill

Canada’s House of Commons has approved the implementing bill for the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for TPP (CPTPP) – or TPP-11.

In a third reading in the House of Commons yesterday (16 October), the bill to ratify the agreement for the CPTPP trade deal was cleared on a 236 to 44 vote.

If approved by the country’s Senate, Canada will become the fourth country to ratify the CPTPP, behind Mexico, Singapore and Japan. The trade pact needs to be ratified by six countries before it can enter into force, which is expected to happen in early 2019.

Canada is among the 11 countries who are part of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) trade pact, which will eventually remove duties on 95% of goods traded between them, including all textiles and apparel. The agreement was signed in March this year.

The US pulled out of the deal last year as part of President Donald Trump’s ‘America First’ agenda, designed to protect domestic jobs. He told CNBC in January he would be prepared to consider re-joining the pact if it were “substantially better”, but this would require approval of the member countries. Around 20 provisions have also been suspended if Washington stays out of the pact, 11 of which are related to intellectual property.

In April, however, the President suggested he may reverse his long-standing position and explore the possibility of re-joining the trade pact.

Each of the 11 countries would have to agree to let the US join and consent to any concessions Washington might request before the country would be permitted to participate.