Trade Minister Tim Groser today welcomed the release of the text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

On behalf of the twelve members of the TPP and in its capacity as Depositary of the Agreement, New Zealand released the text of TPP.

“New Zealand supported the release of the text as soon as the technical work to finalise the Agreement was completed.

“I am pleased that this has happened and that the public will be able to thoroughly review the full text of the TPP well before it will be signed by governments.

“This is a complex agreement, with 30 Chapters and associated annexes.  The large number of documents released today amount to over 6,000 pages of text and market access schedules.  Understanding the legal obligations of the TPP will require careful analysis of all documents, given the inter-relationship between many provisions in the Agreement.

Legal verification of the text will continue in the coming weeks.  The Agreement will also be translated into French and Spanish language versions.  Both steps, as well as the Government’s consideration of the final outcome from negotiations, will need to be completed before signature takes place.

“Following signature, TPP, like any free trade agreement, will need to go through New Zealand’s Parliamentary processes,” said Mr Groser.

The Government has already released a number of fact sheets outlining the content of the TPP. Also released today is additional information on the estimated economic benefits of TPP on the New Zealand economy, and details on how potential costs associated with copyright and administrative provisions relating to PHARMAC have been arrived at.

The documents, together with the full text, are now available at www.tpp.mfat.govt.nz/text