The United States and 11 other countries have agreed in principle to a mega free-trade agreement to eliminate tariffs and import quotas within their boundaries.
Known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the deal includes the United States, Japan, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam, and it represents 40% of the world’s gross domestic product.
In order for the TPP to become law, the agreement must now be ratified though each country’s domestic approval process. For example, Canadian officials said that its parliament was seeking a vote on the deal by the end of 2015. Passage through Congress in the United States will be tricky, given the bipartisan opposition to particular issues. It will be made even more difficult because 2016 is an election year.