Obama says momentum building on “historic” trans-Pacific trade deal

Tuesday, 11 November 2014 00:10 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: US President Barack Obama said on Monday he sees momentum building for a Washington-backed free trade agreement in the Asia-Pacific, after arriving in Beijing on the first leg of an eight-day Asia tour.

USofficials had ruled out a major announcement on the ambitious 12-country Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in Beijing, where Obama will attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum and meet Chinese President Xi Jinping. But business leaders attending the APEC forum have been looking for signs of progress on the TPP, especially as China is pushing for a separate trade liberalisation framework called the Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific (FTAAP). Obama said the TPP, in a deadlock largely due to disagreement between the United States and Japan over how widely Japan will open its doors to farm exports, had the potential to be an “historic achievement”. “During the past few weeks our teams have made good progress in resolving several outstanding issues regarding a potential agreement. Today is an opportunity for us at the political level to break some remaining logjams,” Obama said at a meeting of TPP leaders at the US Embassy. “What we are seeing is momentum building around a Trans-Pacific Partnership that can spur greater economic growth, spur greater jobs growth, set high standards for trade and investment throughout the Asia-Pacific.” Some see a proposed study on the FTAAP plan, which will be presented to APEC leaders for approval this week, as a way to divert attention from the TPP, which excludes China.

US, China to extend visa validity to boost trade, tourismBEIJING (Reuters): China and the United States have agreed to significantly extend the terms of short-term visas, US President Barack Obama said on Monday in Beijing, a deal he said would improve trade and business ties between the world’s two largest economies. Under the deal, which the United States will put into effect on Nov. 12, both countries would extend the terms of multiple entry short-term tourist and business visas to 10 years from one year, the White House said in an accompanying statement. Student visas would be extended to five years from one year. “As a result of this arrangement, the United States hopes to welcome a growing share of eligible Chinese travellers, inject billions (of dollars) in the US economy and create enough demand to support hundreds of thousands of additional US jobs,” the White House said in an emailed statement. Obama made the announcement to business leaders during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum after arriving in Beijing on the first leg of an eight-day Asia tour. The extension of some visas for Chinese nationals to 10 years matches what is currently allowed for citizens of nations with close relations with the United States, such as European countries and Brazil. A senior U.S. official said the visa agreement would allow the United States to tap into the fast-growing market of Chinese tourists travelling abroad. The United States now attracts only 2% of Chinese tourism.

TPP leaders said in a statement issued after the meeting that they remained open to including “other regional partners that are prepared to adopt its high standards”.