With the TPP being concluded, what will be its impact on the regional and global levels? The TPP’s effect on ASEAN states depends on whether the countries are part of the deal as well as their respective domestic policies. The burden is now on the WTO to stay relevant.

On October 5, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) was finalised, ahead of widely-held expectations, as President Obama looked to push it through before the end of his tenure. The trade agreement, which covers 12 countries from both sides of the Pacific, has been billed as a ‘21st century trade agreement’, supposedly of a higher quality compared to previous trade agreements.

TPP is considered a higher level FTA because this self-styled ‘mega-FTA’ includes more conditions than just lowering tariffs which are already relatively low, but also imposes labour standards and environmental conditions on the member countries.

… Kaewkamol Pitakdumrongkit is an Assistant Professor and Aédán Mordecai a Research Analyst at the Centre for Multilateralism Studies (CMS), S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.