CPTPP To Be Activated After Australia Ratifies Trade Pact

Australia has become the sixth country to formally ratify the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which is the number required for the 11-nation trade deal to be activated.The agreement will come into effect on December 30, 2018, at the end of a 60-day countdown triggered by Australia’s ratification, and will reduce tariffs for a number of agricultural commodities including dairy products, beef and pork among many others.December 30 is a significant date for the agreement to be activated, as it makes 2018 ‘Year 1’ of the agreement and two days later January 1 will mark the start of ‘Year 2’.Japan’s tariff reductions will be applied on April 1 each year, while for the rest it is January 1. Countries that have not yet ratified the deal will face a delayed schedule of tariff cuts.Canada and New Zealand have both also ratified the Pacific Rim trade pact in the past week, joining Mexico, Japan and Singapore. The other members who have yet to ratify the agreement are: Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, Peru and Vietnam.“I expect other signatories will come on board after the CPTPP enters into force, as many are working hard to progress their applicable domestic procedures,” New Zealand Trade Minister David Parker said in a statement. “As a result, we could well see other signatories in a position to ratify over the coming weeks and months.”The U.S. pulled out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement days into the presidency of Donald Trump and the US is now pursuing trade negotiations with Japan.