|
NIKKEI ASIAN REVIEW
Canada's 11th-hour revolt gums up TPP talks
Ministers scrambled to heal rift in meeting Friday night
RYOHEI YASOSHIMA and ATSUSHI TOMIYAMA, Nikkei staff writers
DANANG, Vietnam -- Last-minute Canadian objections dashed plans for
leaders from the 11 remaining Trans-Pacific Partnership countries to
announce a broad agreement at a Friday summit on bringing the pact into
effect without the U.S.
Warning signs
Just past 10 a.m., the so-called TPP 11's chances still looked strong.
Ministers and chief negotiators had worked until 3 a.m. to put the
finishing touches on a broad agreement, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib
Razak said in a meeting related to ongoing Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation talks here. A joint statement was due any minute, he said,
and leaders from the 11 nations were ready to give their stamp of
approval during a summit in the afternoon.
Yet there had already been signs of trouble. "Despite reports, there is
no agreement in principle on TPP," wrote Francois-Philippe Champagne,
Canada's minister of international trade, in a tweet late Thursday
night, after Japanese Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Toshimitsu
Motegi told reporters that a broad agreement had been reached in
ministerial talks.
Canada strongly objected to Japan announcing an agreement before leaders
had met, a source involved in talks said. Domestic politics also look to
have played a role. Canada is reworking the North American Free Trade
Agreement with the U.S. and wants to project the image of a tough and
demanding negotiator. It has been playing hardball on TPP talks for some
time.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau staked out a similar stance earlier this
week, saying Canada will not be rushed into a deal that is not in the
best interest of the country or its people. This posturing also seems to
be behind Ottawa's insistence that Tokyo adjust rules governing the
automotive trade.
Late recovery
As Friday progressed, prospects grew dimmer. Trudeau and Japanese Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe met for talks past 1:20 p.m. What was expected to be
a 20-minute face-to-face session stretched to nearly an hour as the pair
talked through the trade pact. Other leaders waited, prepared to
announce an agreement. But Trudeau never showed.
Japanese officials in town for the APEC leaders' summit grew alarmed.
"It would be unprecedented" for a country to renege on a
ministerial-level agreement, an Abe aide said.
After the leaders' meeting collapsed, officials from Vietnam's Ministry
of Industry and Trade told local media that a joint news conference by
TPP ministers was off. Minister Tran Tuan Anh said by phone that leaders
had become unable to sign the agreement. The Tuoi Tre newspaper went so
far as to report that Canada was ready to ditch the TPP 11.
But the day was not over. At Motegi's call, ministers gathered again
Friday evening to bring Canada back around. When negotiators emerged
after 10 p.m., things seemed to have been settled. Motegi returned to
the Japan delegation's lodgings and told Abe that the situation had been
brought under control. All participants had reaffirmed that the
agreement reached Thursday was "correct," and Canada would not be making
any changes, he told a news conference. The deal was back on. |