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Why Did Japan Just Ratify The TPP? (businesstimes.com.sg)
The controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership can't go into effect without U.S. approval, Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has acknowledged. Yet despite president-elect Trump's promise to withdraw from the agreement -- Friday Japan's parliament voted to approve it. An anonymous reader quotes the Business Times.
Was last Friday's vote simply a Quixotic tribute to a dying cause or -- as some are asking -- does Mr. Abe know something that others don't? They note that he is the only foreign leader to have met with the anointed heir to the U.S. presidency since the election result was announced. What went on in New York's Trump Tower during that "informal" meeting is unknown but some speculate that there may have been some equally informal -- but nonetheless significant -- dealmaking between the two men on the TPP. This seems quite possible, analysts say, because the TPP is of great importance to Japan and to Mr. Abe's grand design for Japan to remain a pivotal Asia-Pacific power.
The EFF has decried "the intense push to ram Internet issues into international law through the TPP," and complained Friday that Japan's newly-passed law "includes the extension of Japan's copyright term from 50 to 70 years after the death of the author, which makes today a very sad day for Japan's public domain."
And in addition, "There remains a risk that other TPP countries such as Singapore -- and even countries that weren't part of the original deal, such as Taiwan -- will soon also bring their domestic legislation into conformity with the requirements of this dead agreement."
The EFF has decried "the intense push to ram Internet issues into international law through the TPP," and complained Friday that Japan's newly-passed law "includes the extension of Japan's copyright term from 50 to 70 years after the death of the author, which makes today a very sad day for Japan's public domain."
And in addition, "There remains a risk that other TPP countries such as Singapore -- and even countries that weren't part of the original deal, such as Taiwan -- will soon also bring their domestic legislation into conformity with the requirements of this dead agreement."
Our completely-unaccountable-to-voters State Department is still trying to get TPP to pass despite the political environment changing around them. Japan ratified because they want a good relationship with the people who will still be in charge when Trump takes office.
It has nothing to do with international affairs, it has one main national goal : taking on the Agricultural Association tht has more money and power than the government. The Japanese Agricultural Association (JA) is a very powerfull association that distorts vast amounts of money from the Japanese farmers like Italian mobsters. Money that the government wants to have but it did not have any means to take on the JA. Until the TPP came around. Nobody here in Japan knows that the TPP is also about copyrights. As far as most people know, it's about agricultural goods and meat coming freely into the country without having all kinds of associations like JA being able to control that.
Did you just call Taiwan a country? China's gonna be pissed!
> Was last Friday's vote simply a Quixotic tribute to a dying cause or -- as some are asking -- does Mr. Abe know something that others don't?
I read something else in this part. Obama killed the TPP because Trump was against it and he couldn't pass it in the lame duck session, so he might as well deny others credit for killing the deal he & Hillary negotiated.
So I assume they're wondering if Abe either knows that Hillary has a non-zero chance or they think Trump could be persuaded to go for it.
Personally, whatever happens, I want this to die and stay dead.
On November 18 Abe, Prime Minister of Japan, visited the USA and spoke to Trump.
Abe is now passing Japan's part of the TPP.
Haven't you guys worked out yet that what Trump said before the election and what he is going to do are different things? He's got a very long history of promising various deals and not delivering.
Twelve countries are party to TPP. It only has to be ratified by six in order to become binding (on those six). As currently written, the US and Japan have to be among the six, but certainly the other 11, or some of them, could decide to put it into effect among themselves. TPP can exist without the US, if Japan is included. Heck, the US isn't party to a precursor of TPP, the Transpacific Economic Partnership Agreement.
Also, Trump could have a heart attack tomorrow - he may never become president. After all these years of negotiations, there's no reason for Japan to just drop it, based only on something someone said during a campaign; people say all kinds of things during campaigns. The US could even ratify TPP in 2020, after Trump leaves office. (At least I don't know if any time limit offhand.)
You're a year late, hoverboards are old and busted. Do you have any Tickle Me Elmos?
"If there was a gay Afro-Puertorican Linux distribution, I'd give it a try" ~lucm
From this news it looks very much that it is not.
Enjoy the exciting times of the uncertainty of living under the rule of someone who thinks autocracy is a good idea and has few to oppose him. A few months ago The Word of Trump was no TPP, while now it looks like The Word of Trump as uttered to Abe is that there will be a TPP. House and Senate will not stop him and the Supreme Court will be stacked with enough new members to ensure Trump gets his way.
While he is cosing up to Russia, the latest insults towards China indicate that the latter will be designated as the new hostile nation #1, and the TPP is all about containing and insulating China.
The only reason I think that Japan would have done it, is if they think that the current coup to put Hillary in power by flooding the news with propaganda about "Russian hacking" will definitely succeed, which will result in Hillary signing the TTP into law. I would rather not actually see this happen, considering how horrible the law actually is (Personally I don't like the idea of it killing the Dojinshi industry, not to mention the US jobs and jobs of whatever other modern country joins in). This was more likely a leak than a hack, considering the suspicious death of Seth Rich.
Non sequitur: Your facts are uncoordinated.
You actually believed Trump when he said that? How dumb are you?
Incidentally, this is also part of why the Obama administration, and others before it, wanted a trade agreement - because we want to sell more agricultural products to Japan. The copyright stuff was shoehorned in there by the **AA, and it was an unfortunate side effect, not the initial intent.
The only reason I think that Japan would have done it, is if they think that the current coup to put Hillary in power by flooding the news with propaganda about "Russian hacking" will definitely succeed, which will result in Hillary signing the TTP into law. I would rather not actually see this happen, considering how horrible the law actually is (Personally I don't like the idea of it killing the Dojinshi industry, not to mention the US jobs and jobs of whatever other modern country joins in). This was more likely a leak than a hack, considering the suspicious death of Seth Rich.
Trump supporters don't drink the kool-aid - they snort the powder.
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
He's already breaking some with his appointments. Why give him a free pass when cries for Hillary to be lock locked up happened any time Goldman Sachs connections were mentioned?
It must be the lefties fault.
My ism, it's full of beliefs.
>Hillary lost
I am over that. But I am still not over Bernie losing.
I'm guessing you live in Japan like me, so just wanted to point out for anyone interested that this is pretty much dead on. I would like to point out that it's neglecting the immensely positive push it got from car and electronics companies. If the TPP passed as-is Japanese cars and electronics could easily take over the US market place and would likely decimate the US domestic market. Really it would have been great for Japan, which is why I personally wanted it to pass, but the honest truth is as Trump points out it was an abysmal deal for the US. Personally I hope they just renegotiate it.
Ah, the new and exciting world of post-truth, where all you need is an opinion and an inflated ego. It worked for Trump, so it must work for everybody else.
It is obvious why they do this: They want the TPP to work, and they are sending a political signal, not least to Trump. but also to other, interested parties in the region. Basically, what they say is: "We want closer cooperation - ideally with the US, but we might get this to work without." I haven't studied the details (or even the headlines, tbh) of the TPP, but given the internet, easy travel, trans-national corporations etc, globalisation is a fact, and if the US want to isolate themselves, the rest of the world will go on without. You may point to Brexit, but the take-away point here is that UK is in no way talking about isolationism - quite the opposite, in fact: they want to become more international than they felt they were able to in EU (I don't agree with Brexit, but that's beside the point). Globalisation will happen with you or to you; I think it is better to take active part in the processes and see if you can influence them in your favour. By refusing to be part of it and sulking in a corner, all you achieve is to be left out of influence.
but the honest truth is as Trump points out it was an abysmal deal for the US
The negative impact on the US auto industry really misses the point, protectionism is almost always to the detriment of the country as a whole. Under the deal the Japanese agricultural industry suffers, but all Japanese people get cheaper food. It's a net benefit to Japan, even though it has a negative impact on that specific industry. At the same time the US agricultural industry gains from this.
Likewise: under the deal the US auto industry suffers, but all Americans get cheaper cars. Since almost all Americans drive, it's a net benefit to the US. And, at the same time, the Japanese auto industry gains from this. Exactly the same situation as above.
Third thing: the copyright stuff is being handled in the opposite way - favor the industry over the whole population. This is why people protest it, but it's easy to see why the politicians do it this way. The loss to industry is easy to quantify, even if they do give ridiculously inflated numbers, but the monetary benefit of shorter copyright terms is very hard to measure. You're trying to estimate the value of all of the works which could exist but don't, thanks to copyright. So politicians favor the safer option, ignoring all of the non-monetary value of the potential works that they're stifling, and go with copyright protectionism.
Translation: "Stop pointing out that i got conned by a liar! Waaaaaaaah!"
China may be rapidly militarizing, but even at current rates it is decades away from being able to project force with the ability of the US and even some of the US's allies. China has exactly one aircraft carrier actually in the water at this point.
And while I think Trump is a farcical moron, all he's really doing with this latest saber rattling is making open that which has been US policy for decades. Yes, the US won't acknowledge the Taiwanese government, even as arms it to the teeth and makes it clear that any attempt by China to seize Taiwan would lead to retaliation. And really, with China's military as it is, it's dubious it could even take Taiwan, which is one of the most fortified chunks of rock on the planet.
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
I've studied the TPP. That anyone who is in favor of American exceptionalism would be against it is mind-blowing. The U.S. and Japan basically bullied a bunch of smaller but up-and-coming countries to play by Westernized rules with a lot of exceptions that American and Japanese industries don't have to follow those same rules as swiftly (think agriculture, which is exempt from a lot of the TPP tariff reductions).
It basically extends U.S. corporate hegemony to China's doorstep. And before you go all "but but corporations are greedy!" you want American corporations to do well more than you want a Chinese state-sponsored company to do well.