July 17, 2014
Mitsuru Obe

With an ultimate goal of stimulating economic growth, hopes are high that the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement will lead to a spike in cross-border business deals among member countries. Assuming that’s the case, Japan’s chief TPP negotiator posed an interesting question: why does the pact sidestep a key factor that affects practically all international business activity?

“Why aren’t monetary and fiscal policies subject to economic partnership agreements?” Koji Tsuruoka rhetorically asked at a Tokyo symposium Tuesday. “Is it because there is a coalition of financial services regulators and they don’t want anyone to intervene in their world?”

Mr. Tsuruoka, who just returned from a 10 day meeting of TPP senior negotiators in Ottawa, noted “this is a question we may be asked as negotiators in the future.” The TPP’s 12 countries, including the U.S. and Japan, are negotiating to conclude most of the talks by the end of the year.

Source
Wall Street Journal