After seven years of negotiations on the TPPA, Ministers from twelve countries have reached agreement, but all is not lost as it has not been signed and sealed. Even though Tim Groser and other governments Ministers reached agreement, the TPPA has not been finalised. There are further steps before ratification and many ways that the TPPA could still fail.
Under the US Fast Track law, President Obama has to give 90 days notice to Congress before he can sign the TPPA, and must make the text public 30 days into that period.
Meanwhile, members of the US Congress and the corporate lobbyists who are ‘cleared advisers’ will get to see the deal. They will be seeking to change what they don’t like and making new demands. That will be the first of many opportunities for them to seek to rewrite the ‘final’ deal. So the earliest that the TPPA could actually be signed is next February, and that would assume that all governments agree with the final tweaking. So there is time to mobilize!
See below for details on the nationwide marches on Saturday November 14th 2015.