AsiaPacificReport.nz – Al Jazeera – By Caitlin McGee in Auckland [caption id="attachment_8943" align="alignleft" width="300"] Yesterday’s TPP protest in Auckland … “a kind of Cold War by proxy of trade and investment agreements.” Image: Del Abcede/Asia Pacific Report.[/caption] One of the biggest and most controversial trade deals in history has been signed by ministers from the Asia-Pacific region and the Americas, as thousands of protesters hit the streets to denounce it. Security was stepped up across Auckland for representatives who travelled here to sign the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) – a deal involving 12 economies worth about $28 trillion. Prime Minister John Key said the deal would benefit everybody. “The opening of our markets will enhance the lives of our people. The TPP will make new trade opportunities. It is overwhelmingly in the best interests of our countries and our citizens,” Key said. The TPP is a free trade agreement promising to liberalise trade and investment between the 12 nations, which make up about 36 percent of the world’s GDP. The deal – which will cut tariffs, improve access to markets and sets common ground on labour and environmental standards and intellectual property protections – was finally reached in October after five years of negotiations. It includes Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the US, and Vietnam. Cheaper access The TPP is supposed to ensure everyone from Vietnamese shrimpers to New Zealand dairy farmers get cheaper access to markets and bring in economic benefits. Ministers received a traditional Māori welcome from members of the Ngati Whatua tribe – including a hongi, which involves the pressing of noses and exchange of breath. But the welcome wasn’t as warm in downtown Auckland where thousands of protesters from different groups blockaded the inner city in a rally against the deal. Many carried flags and banners and chanted outside the Sky City convention centre where the signing took place. ‘No balance of interests’ Rowan Brooks, a protest organiser, said he was concerned about the power the agreement would give to big corporations. “Basically it eats away at New Zealand’s sovereignty and the whole process was undemocratic… The agreement gives power to corporations and takes it away from the people,” Brooks said. Jane Kelsey, a law professor at the University of Auckland, is one of the agreement’s fiercest critics.
Controversial TPP pact signed amid huge New Zealand protests
She said she was concerned about how the deal could be used by the US to counter China’s influence in the region.