Japan ratifies TPP despite Trump opposition

The move by Japan’s parliament on Friday to ratify the sweeping 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement is seen as a mostly symbolic gesture as President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly promised to exit the deal when he takes office.    The National Diet of Japan on Friday ratified the sweeping 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement despite U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s staunch opposition to the deal, according to multiple media reports.
   The upper house of the country’s bicameral legislative body, also known as the House of Councillors, voted 165-70 to approve the agreement following prior approval from the lower House of Representatives.
   The move by Japan’s parliament is seen as a mostly symbolic gesture, however, as Trump has repeatedly promised to exit the deal, which he calls a “potential disaster for our country,” when he takes office in January.
   Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has acknowledged previously that without the involvement of the United States, the TPP, which took President Barack Obama and other world leaders more than five years to negotiate, would be “meaningless.” Ratification in the U.S. is a prerequisite for the pact to come into force.
   Even so, Abe stressed the importance of ratification, even if the trade deal does not ultimately come into force.
   “It’s very important for us, as a country, to show ideal rules that we believe the world should aim for,” Abe reportedly told the upper house earlier in the day, adding that Japan should be on the forefront of initiatives like TPP to encourage free trade and beat back rising protectionism around the world, according to a report in the Japan Times newspaper.
   Abe also noted that the TPP would set new environmental standards and stricter anti-competition rules for state-owned enterprises.
   Trump has said he favors bilateral trade agreements with individual nations to large regional deals, but whether Japan and other members will be interested in such agreements after the dismantling of the TPP remains to be seen.
   Other options for Japan include prioritizing potential FTAs with other countries, most notably the Chinese-led Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), and continuing to pursue a TPP agreement without the U.S., which seems unlikely at this point.