Abe praises deal, says it will create fair economic system

TOKYO — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe yesterday hailed a landmark Pacific trade deal, saying it will help create a free, fair and rule-based international economic system in the face of China’s growing clout in the Asia-Pacific region.

“Together with countries sharing freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law, the TPP will create a free, fair and open international economic system and fundamentally strengthen the rule of law on the economic front,” Mr Abe said yesterday. He was referring to the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact that was signed early this week in Atlanta by the United States, Japan, Singapore and nine other nations.

Mr Abe added that as part of domestic measures, the Japanese government will create a task force involving all Cabinet members to counteract negative impacts from a possible surge in agricultural imports once the TPP comes into force.

The Japanese Premier said that while Japan won “many exceptions” in tariff elimination of what it calls “sensitive” products — rice, wheat, beef and pork, dairy products and sugar — to protect domestic farmers from an influx of cheaper foreign products, Japan will need to cut tariffs on products such as beef and pork and raise an import quota for US and Australian rice in the future.

Mr Abe also said that the TPP would spur negotiations for a free trade agreement between Japan and the European Union towards the goal of concluding it by the end of the year.

Referring to what would be the largest economic zone in the world, covering some 40 per cent of global output, Mr Abe said the TPP “will make our lives richer” and that Japan has achieved the “best possible outcomes (from negotiations) in line with the national interest.”

Mr Abe also welcomed China’s future participation in the TPP. “If China joined that system in the future, it would significantly contribute to the security of our country and the stability of the Asia-Pacific region … I believe it would have a significant strategic impact as well,” Mr Abe said.

In a statement released yesterday morning, China’s Ministry of Commerce broadly welcomed the TPP in the hope it would “promote and make common contributions to Asia-Pacific trade, investment and economic development”.

Meanwhile, South Korean Finance Minister Choi Kyung Hwan has been quoted as telling lawmakers yesterday that the country is studying the prospect of joining the TPP.

In a social media post yesterday, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong lauded the deal on the TPP as a historic moment, and said that the pact would make it easier for Singaporean companies to do business in the TPP area. “In the long run, our people will enjoy greater prosperity and more jobs,” he wrote. AGENCIES