First I will talk about some of the potential gains that could be made by the participating nations of the TPP. As I had said before, a big thing that a deal like the TPP aims to do is to identify which tariffs that each country has that most affects market access and competition. Once these have been identified, a lot of negotiation between the countries happens to either get these tariffs reduced or removed altogether, thereby promoting a higher level of free trade and more products/services available to citizens.

 Another goal of the TPP is to create a rules standard for the participating countries that will affect much more than just tariffs and trade. These rules aim to standardize business practices and protect intellectual property rights, patents, and labor regulations, among other things. The hope is that with standardization across the board, labor and environmental laws of countries that have been lagging behind will catch up with the rest of the group. To ensure that the participating countries are following the rules and guidelines, the deal will set up a tribunal of sorts to enforce rules and pass down decisions.

Next time I will talk about some of the potential downsides of this deal.