Singapore - The United States will join four Asia-Pacific countries when they negotiate investment and financial services under a multilateral trade agreement, Singapore's ministry for trade and industry said on Tuesday. Brunei, Singapore, Chile and New Zealand have also been informed that the US will explore whether to join the full Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement (TPSEP) to be launched in early March.
"US participation in TPSEP is a positive step that could pave the way for broader Asia-Pacific trade integration," said Singapore's Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang.
"It bodes well for our ambition to grow the TPSEP as a building block towards the creation of a larger free trade area for the Asia-Pacific," he said.
The TPSEP is the only free trade pact that spans both sides of the Pacific, linking Asia with the Americas. It achieves significant liberalization with tariffs on 90 per cent of trade in goods between the parties eliminated immediately and tariffs on all trade products eliminated within 12 years.
Brunei, Chile, New Zealand and Singapore are signatories to the TPSEP, which came into force in 2006. Negotiations on the outstaning investment and financial services chapters commerce in March.
The TPSEP is open to other "like-minded economies," Lim said.
"US interest comes at an opportune time, in light of renewed interest in regional economic integration among the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) economies," the trade ministry said.
APEC Economic leaders endorsed a report on promoting regional economic integration at their meeting in Sydney last year.
The Asia-Pacific region represents nearly 60 per cent of global gross domestic product and about 50 per cent of international trade.
