Roundup: Chile postpones TPP ratification until April

Chile's Congress decided to postpone a vote on adopting the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) due to disagreement within the pro-government coalition Nueva Mayoria (New Majority), Senator Alejandro Navarro said on Monday.

Navarro, who leads the political party Broad Social Movement (MAS), said the debate surrounding the TPP, signed by Chile on Feb. 4 in New Zealand, will begin in Congress in April.

"The topic has not been officially discussed with the benches (Congress) or with the parties that make up the Nueva Mayoria. We understand that it is assumed to be discussed when there is no consensus. It is neither a priority nor urgent of the government," said Navarro.

However, the senator mentioned that he was concerned about the effect that an approval could have on Chile, in terms of international relations.

Some Chilean civil organizations are against the partnership, said the senator, adding that "we want an economic partnership that is discussed openly and does not imply a decline to our companies, citizens and our environmental rights and benefits."

"Our authorities should listen to the various technical and civic opinions that view the consequences of the TPP with resentment and they should politically decide to open up the debate so that we can reach a better agreement," said Navarro.

Opponents of the TPP hold that the partnership will benefit no one but the United States.

Also, critics maintain that areas the treaty claims to regulate will go further beyond exchanging goods between member countries and it will extend to very important topics such as government investments and the access to healthcare and the Internet.

There is a minimum quorum of countries to ratify the pact, according to the size of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP). For that reason, if the largest economies ratify the treaty then it will immediately start to apply to all member countries, Carlos Figueroa, spokesperson for civil organization Chile Mejor sin TPP (Chile Better Without TPP), said earlier.

Chile is still able to pull out of the agreement, added Figueroa.

Figueroa urged the authorities to clarify both the positive and negative sides of the TPP.

"We will find many weaknesses in the treaty and also some strengths and for that reason, it is necessary to critically analyze all the aspects and the government has to play a fundamental role in this," added Figueroa.

According to expert Patricio Lopez, "the TPP was negotiated over five years with confidentiality clauses and Chilean parliamentarians did not have access to these discussions, and now that the text is already signed, they only have two alternatives -- to vote for or against."

Former presidential candidate and leader of the Progressive Party (PRO), Marco Enriquez-Ominami, asked the government to carry out a referendum to leave the final approval of the TPP "in the hands of citizens."

In another development, some officials from the Chilean government held a positive stance towards the partnership. "The TPP will not reduce Chile's sovereignty in terms of investments and intellectual property," argued Andres Rebolledo, foreign ministry's director of international economic relations.

"The TPP is in line with our trade policies. It opens markets and for that reason collaborates with national growth without reducing sovereignty," added Rebolledo.

Apart from Chile, the United States, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, Vietnam, Canada, Mexico and Peru are all members of the TPP. Negotiations on the pact kicked off in 2008. Endi