Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Auckland and elsewhere as the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement was being signed on 4 February. The chant that rose into the air summed up the sentiment: “TPPA – Taking People’s Power Away”.
But these anti-TPP protests were reported only in passing, if at all, in the corporate media.
The agreement may have been signed but there is still a two-year period for ratification by each country. And anything can happen between now and then, not least in the United States as it prepares for a presidential election.
We haven’t seen the last of the protests.
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Is the TPP really a leap forward for Malaysia? – By Shankaran Nambiar, Malaysian Institute of Economic Research Malaysia’s leadership must be extremely satisfied on two counts: their success in negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement and the parliament’s favourable position on the agreement. It is amazing that Malaysia has negotiated to preserve the Bumiputera agenda, obtain a minimum five-year grace period to reform state-owned enterprises (SOEs), and gain exemption for Khazanah from investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) provisions for two years after the deal comes into force. There were fears that the TPP would necessitate the dismantling of SOEs, prise… Read more »
TPP is brought to you by the same people who bring you 1.5 million more foreign workers when there are already several million legal and serveral million illegal ones. The main impact is (a) loss of jobs (b) diseases (c) outflow of wealth (d) terrorism.
Don’t expect MSM publicity for protests. There will only be arrests. Next is TTIP for USA-Europe. This is the New World Order: a world ruled by the largest businesses through governments, where even war is business. Only Russia and China stand in the way.
Anil Thank you
Imported goods like buckystar with its efficient global supply chain and effective marketing campaign can easily wipe out local kopi o enterprises, as the youngs could be brainwashed to accept it as “true bin chui” necessity to be among the Jones instead of being like outdated AhHuat AhPEK?
International Trade and Industry Second Minister Ong Ka Chuan says:
“I would like to stress that the FTA will facilitate two-way trade, and we will enjoy zero tax rates from the country concerned as no import duties will be imposed on nearly 90% of products,”
Does that mean 90% of the imported goods will be cheaper for Malaysian consumers?
Does that mean 90% of the imported goods will be cheaper for Malaysian consumers? NO. With GST waiting at entry point, imports will still be technically more expensive than any ASEAN country. The more worrying facet of TPPA is the ‘elimination’ of home grown industries which will be at the mercy of international competitive rules of ratification & imposed strict manufacturing processes which may involve higher costs. The other facet is the dumping of excess goods from US to justify over-supply in the name of mass production for optimal price – supply equilibrium (but actually to make a clean profit… Read more »
Can Ong Ka Chuan assure us cheaper dairy products like milk from New Zealand with TPPA with the abolition of import duties?