Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh - Photo: VGP/Hai Minh |
2. In May, Ministers tasked officials to engage in a process of assessing options to bring the comprehensive, high quality Agreement into force expeditiously. Over the past several months, officials have worked to reach a balanced outcome that maintains the significant benefits of the TPP.
3. Ministers are pleased to announce that they have agreed on the core elements of the Comprehensive and Progress Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTTP). Ministers agreed to Annex I and II (attached) which incorporates provisions of the TPP, with the exception of a limited set of provisions which will be suspended. This text also incorporate a list of four specific items for which substantial progress was made but consensus must be achieved prior to signing.
4. Ministers agreed that the CPTTP maintains the high standards, overall balance, and integrity of the TPP while ensuring the commercial and other interests of all participants and preserving our inherent right to regulate, including the flexibility of the Parties to set legislative and regulatories. Ministers also affirm the rights of each Party to preserve, development and implement its cultural policies. Minister consider that the CPTTP reflect the desire of the Parties to implement the TPP outcomes among themselves.
5. Ministers confirm that the legal instrument proposed for the CPTTP allows the participants to act decisively in a timely manner to advance their shared objectives. Ministers affirm that the CPTTP demonstrates their firm commitment to open markets, to combat protectionism, and to advance regional economic integration.
6. Noting Article 6 of the CPTPP, Ministers shared the view that the scope of a review may extend to proposals to amend the CPTTP, to reflect the circumstances concerning the status of the TPP.
7. Furthermore, Ministers decided that all the TPP side letters signed among the 11 countries will be maintained in principle, unless the relevant Parties decide otherwise.
8. Ministers asked officials to continue their technical work, including continuing their efforts toward finalizing those items for which consensus has not yet been achieved, and legal verification of the English text and translation, to prepare finalized text for signature.
9. Ministers recognize that each country will need to pursue its own domestic processes, including for public consultation, in advance of signature./.