The Abe administration in Japan says it will submit 11 bills to the parliament to ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact, reported Feedstuffs. “The government intends to deliberate and pass the bills during the current Diet’s session, which ends on June 1, to avoid making TPP adoption a focal issue during Japan’s general election, which is very likely to be called in July.”
By taking the lead, Japan hopes to build momentum for the 11 other countries involved in TPP to approve the free-trade agreement.
The ratification rules for TPP, which require at least six countries accounting for 85 percent of the GDP of the bloc, effectively mean that Japan and the United States must adopt TPP for the plan to take effect. A U.S. vote may not come until after the presidential election.