12 Countries sign Trans-Pacific Partnership in New Zealand

Ministers and representatives of 12 countries signed the TransPacific Partnership (TPP) agreement Thursday in Auckland, New Zealand. The TPP will account for around 40 percent of global gross domestic product.

The deal was signed by officials from Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Peru, the United States, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore and Vietnam.

The new economic bloc expects the process of ratification by the various national parliaments to take up to two years.

The agreement reflects “the confidence that the opening and integration of our markets and investments will enhance the prosperity of our people,” said New Zealand’s prime minister John Key during the event.

Key highlighted that the agreement represents one third of world exports and a market of 800 million people and said that his government will present the agreement to parliament for ratification next Tuesday.

At the media conference following the signing, the signatories expressed their readiness to accept more members into the TPP in the future, such as China.

In addition, Indonesia and the Philippines have in recent months shown interest in joining the trade agreement.

However, not everyone in Auckland this morning was pleased with the pact signing. Up to 1,000 people took to the streets to protest against the 30chapter trade agreement, blocking traffic on several major downtown streets and carrying signs with slogans such as “If injustice is law, rebellion is our duty” and “TPPA is a bad dream. Wake up. Don’t sign,” the New Zealand Herald reported.

The TPP has been criticized for the secrecy surrounding the talks, which started in 2010 and concluded last October.

NGOs and other organizations have warned of the threats posed by the trade alliance to labor rights, access to medicine and the environment, among others.