Vietnam to delay TPP ratification until after US elections
Vietnam will delay ratifying the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) until after the US elections, a lawmaker said on Wednesday, in the latest blow to the massive trade pact.
Prospects that the 12-country deal could be ratified in Washington this year have dimmed, with US lawmakers casting doubt on whether President Barack Obama’s signature Pacific trade deal will receive substantial backing or even come to a vote.
Everybody knows that the US is the most important member in this deal and the country is in the middle of an election
Vietnam, which stands to gain enormously from the trade deal that spans 40 per cent of the world’s economy, had set a July target to approve it, according to the government’s website.
But a member of the National Assembly, or parliament,said on Wednesday the deal would not be discussed in the next parliamentary session that opens on October 20 and runs until mid-November.
“The important issue here is to find a proper time to discuss and ratify the trade deal. Everybody knows that the US is the most important member in this deal and the country is in the middle of an election,” Dung Trung Quoc said.