Tag Archives: brunei

TPP talks on tariffs advance as Brunei round ends

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Kyodo News International               August 30, 2013

Japan and 11 other Pacific Rim countries wrapped up the 19th round of the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade negotiations in Brunei on Friday, saying they have advanced work on tariffs and other key subjects while agreeing to hold more working-level negotiations in coming weeks.

During the nine-day round since Aug. 22, Japan proposed eliminating tariffs on around 80 percent of imported products, and plans to raise the offer to over 90 percent in subsequent negotiations, sources said.

The 12 participating countries, including the United States, are now arranging a meeting of chief negotiators in Washington Sept. 18-21 as they pursue the goal of concluding a deal by a year-end deadline, according to Japanese officials.

The Brunei round was the last round of full-scale negotiations, with the countries now expected to focus on intersessional meetings involving only one or two working groups from now on, one source said.

In a statement released at the end of the Brunei round, the TPP countries said, “Negotiators advanced their technical work this round on the texts covering market access,” which deals with tariff cuts, and numerous other fields such as fishing subsidies and intellectual property.

Market access is one of the issues that Japan is keen to discuss as it faces strong domestic pressure to protect rice and four other sensitive farm products by retaining tariffs it levies on imports of those items.

Japan’s chief negotiator Koji Tsuruoka said at a press conference that the nation has held bilateral tariff negotiations with all TPP countries other than Chile and Peru this time.

Japan exchanged lists of proposals on tariff-free items with six countries — Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, New Zealand, Mexico and Peru, a source familiar with the matter said.

The negotiations with the United States and Australia did not involve an exchange of a list of proposal on tariff-free items as the United States has said it can only table its offer in September while Australia awaits a general election on Sept. 7.

Tsuruoka indicated a plan to raise the ratio of tariff-free items, saying Japan’s counterparts who received its tariff proposals have said there is still much room for improvement.

Under the 13 existing free trade agreements concluded by Japan, the percentage of items on which Tokyo agreed to eliminate tariffs within 10 years ranges from 84.4 percent to 88.4 percent of the total.

If Japan agrees to abolish all tariffs other than those on its five key farm product categories — rice, wheat, beef and pork (counted as one), dairy products and sugar — the tariff-free percentage would rise to 93.5 percent.

The latest TPP statement also said, “Negotiators will meet again intersessionally in the coming weeks to further their work” toward the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit scheduled to be held in Bali, Indonesia, in early October.

The TPP countries have been aiming to reach a basic agreement in October and conclude a deal by the end of the year. Ministers of the 12 TPP members reaffirmed the target after meeting in the first two days of the Brunei round last week.

The countries involved in the TPP negotiations are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam.

Japan only joined the TPP talks near the end of the Malaysia round held in July, and the latest Brunei round was the first full round it participated in.

The TPP negotiations stretch over 21 fields as the members are aiming for creation of a comprehensive free trade pact covering nearly 40 percent of global economic output and about a third of world trade. The latest round dealt with 10 of the fields.

While most of the working groups finished negotiations for this round, some are expected to continue their work through Saturday.

TPP sources have said some groups were not as successful as desired, including the one on the environment, which made less than 40 percent of the progress expected.

==Kyodo

Concerns Raised That TPP Negotiations Ensure Rights Of Countries Not Impinged On

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By Andrew Chernoff    August 29, 2013 Just-saying

Some people in the host country of the 19th Round of Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) Negotiations in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei are concerned about tobacco and the push by the United States and its’ tobacco multinational companies to water down nations’ rights to enact legislation or rules that discourage the use of tobacco products in the TPP participating countries.

In the August 29, 2013 edition of the Brunei Times newspaper, a letter to the editor raised a further concern that perhaps, it was not just tobacco that countries were being influenced to change their legislation or rules about.

The letter titled, “Solid stance or wishful thinking on TPP?”, the writer says:

“IN A Canadian paper dated August 27, 2013, it was stated that “The Americans, apparently at the behest of tobacco companies, are trying to water down nations’ rights to enact legislation or rules that discourage the use of tobacco products”.

Are tobacco companies the only ones doing this?

The letter from MoFAT published in your paper on the same date stated that “On the queries on whether the TPP will impinge upon Brunei Darussalam’s sovereignty, our accession to the TPP will not prevent us from continuing to apply our laws and regulations”.

“Watering down” national rights to enact certain kinds of legislation or rules would certainly lead to impingement of a country’s sovereignty.”

This concern is not just one the citizens of Brunei should be concerned about. Canadians should have the same concern, and with the secrecy that abounds with negotiations, and the fact that the Canadian government is determined to make the decision on the final look of the partnership agreement, all Canadians must make sure that our politicians inform us of the particulars of the agreement items and get feedback from the Canadian electorate before Parliament gives royal assent.

As one commenter to the article in the Brunei Times said, and I quote, “The public at large (society) needs to participate in this debate so governments can formulate better strategies to balance economic diversification efforts and protection of the public.”

I wholeheartedly agree. How about you?

Report: 19th Round of Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) Negotiations in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei

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From: http://keionline.org/

Submitted by Krista Cox on 22. August 2013 – 21:14

The 19th round of Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) began this week in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei. Although this round just started yesterday, it is evident that there are many differences between this round and previous rounds.

First, the meeting started with an overlapping TPP ministerial meeting where the Trade Ministers of the various countries met for two days to (presumably) discuss the TPP, efforts moving forward, and outstanding or controversial issues. It has been reported that not all countries’ trade ministers were able to attend, and I have heard that Australia, Chile and Peru’s trade ministers are not here (but that a deputy or other person has attended instead).

These meetings, like the rest of the TPP, have been secretive.

A large number of press, nearly all member of the Japanese media, were camped out in the lobby of the negotiating venue yesterday, eagerly awaiting the emergence of any trade minister from behind the closed off areas. Any time a trade minister walked out of the room yesterday, they were instantly bombarded by cameras and press but refused to comment even when asked very open questions such as “Would you like to say anything about the TPP?”

The logistics of this round have been much more difficult and the venue seems more inaccessible than previous rounds. There is a feeling that this venue is a bit isolated.

Although stakeholders are allowed in the lobby of the International Convention Centre (ICC) — I note that there was one prior round, the December 2012 round in Auckland, New Zealand where stakeholders were prohibited even from the lobby or common areas of the convention center, so perhaps we should be thankful not to be locked out this time — the venue itself is quite far from the hotels, shops, or restaurants.

This has made it difficult to meet for lunch with the negotiators as there are no restaurants in walking distance from the ICC. Ordinarily, stakeholders are able to make appointments to meet negotiators over breakfast, lunch or dinner. This time, however, while there is some food catered to the venue that food (as well as the area where it is being served) is reserved for negotiators only and stakeholders are not allowed to even purchase the food. I learned that there is a cafe here, but was closed when I tried to get food yesterday.

Lunch and dinner meetings have become more complicated, as well, given the near isolation of the negotiation venue in relation to the rest of the city. There does not appear to be many hotels that are close to each other and negotiators are scattered in hotels far and wide across the city. Taxis are quite expensive in Brunei (a literally 5 minute taxi ride from the airport to my hotel was $20 BND) and also difficult to find. Some stakeholders have reported paying $25 BND (approximately $20 USD) from their hotel to the negotiating venue, costing $40USD round trip each day. It is therefore difficult to find a convenient meeting spot and find the time to meet when the hotels are not close to the venue.

Meeting after the negotiating day is done may also be difficult for some delegations because while they have their own shuttle buses to transport them from the venue to their hotels, they may get left behind if they stay too long after the day supposedly ends. From the stakeholder perspective, it makes meetings more difficult and I can only imagine that this situation is not particularly convenient for the negotiators as they meet bilaterally or for delegation meetings (as many negotiators even within the same delegation are not located within the same hotel). With regard to the IP negotiators, for example, out of the eleven countries I know that there are at least five hotels that the delegations are staying at, none of which are walkable or convenient to each other. They may well be spread across even more hotels, as well, that I am not aware of. Hosting side events or luncheons, something that stakeholders have done at many previous rounds, is obviously made more difficult. The closest possible venue to host such a side event is close to 30 minutes away by walking, making it basically impossible to have the event and reasonably expect the negotiators to come.

With regard to the stakeholder engagement day, there are also substantial changes. Initially, we were told that there would be no tables and no presentations, a huge change from any of the previous rounds. At the last minute, and with just two days of notice, we were told that we could register to make presentations. However, the presentations are limited to 7 minutes each, less than half of the 15 minutes we have been traditionally allotted at the most recent TPP rounds, and quite a bit less than the 20 minutes allotted at some early rounds. It is obviously difficult to give a presentation when only allotted a 7 minute speaking slot.

The location of the stakeholder engagement day is at the Empire Hotel, about 30 km away and according to google maps a 35 minute drive from the ICC negotiating venue. It is quite far from many of the hotels that negotiators are staying at, and some countries have indicated that they do not know how they will get to the stakeholder presentations because they are so far away. Some hotels do have private transportation that can be used for a fee, but at least one hotel has said that they do not transit to the Empire Hotel. Not only do they have to get to the Empire Hotel by the start of the stakeholder day (which begins at 8:30 am), but they must ensure their ability to return to the ICC for negotiations afterward.

I asked one of the organizers whether they would be arranging for buses or transportation to and from the Empire Hotel and was told that they were not. I then asked again, clarifying that I was inquiring only about transportation for the negotiators and not for stakeholders, and was again told that no transportation arrangements were being made to/from the Empire Hotel. It is therefore up to the negotiators to ensure that they can get to and from the stakeholder venue, located 35 minutes away by car.

Everyone seems to be waiting for direction and answers from the trade ministers as to what will be happening going forward, when the next meetings may be for outstanding chapters, whether this is indeed the last full round, and what will happen at the APEC meeting in October.

IP on agenda of TPP talks

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Friday, August 23, 2013    The Brunei Times

His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah (R), the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, held an audience yesterday with ministers and heads of delegates from Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) member countries at Istana Nurul Iman. Also present were His Royal Highness Prince Hj Al-Muhtadee Billah (2nd R), the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office. Picture: BT/Yusri Adanan

 

MINISTERS of the 12 Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) member countries yesterday commenced the 19th round of discussions on the trade agreement, with focus on, among others, the intellectual property provisions.

Held at the International Convention Centre, the 19th round for the TPP also welcomed Japan as the 12th member of the discussions. Japan joined the TPP towards the end of the 18th round in Malaysia last month.

Akira Amari, Japanese minister in charge of economic revitalisation and minister of state for economic and fiscal policy is in the sultanate for the proceedings.

YB Pehin Orang Kaya Perkerma Dewa Dato Lim Jock Seng, Brunei’s second minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, welcomed TPP ministerial colleagues to the Sultanate and noted that the meeting was a good opportunity to take stock of their current progress.

He said Japan’s inclusion as the 12th member serves to emphasise the significance of the collective undertaking, and hoped that the meeting in Brunei would yield positive results that can be reported to the leaders in the upcoming months.

The TPP ministerial meeting was chaired by United States Trade Representative Michael Froman.

At a press conference the other day, Froman had expressed hope that negotiations for the trade pact would be concluded by the end of the year.

The 19th round is set to run until August 31.

Brunei’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MoFAT) stated that there would be a stakeholder dialogue on the morning of August 27, to be held in “a leading hotel in Jerudong”.

“The dialogue will include a number of presentations by various stakeholders from TPP countries and provide an opportunity for stakeholders to engage directly with negotiators,” it stated.

MoFAT added that YB Pehin Dato Lim held a bilateral meeting with Japan’s Amari to exchange views on trade and economic relations between the sultanate and Japan, ASEAN and Japan and “matters related to the TPP negotiations”.

Intellectual property is one of the most contentious issues in the trade pact, with some members of the partnership expressing concern over how protection of medical patents would affect access to more affordable generic drugs.

The TPP is being negotiated by Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States, and Vietnam.

Debbie Too The Brunei Times