Saving the TPP still a priority for Turnbull

Malcolm Turnbull has sent the strongest message that he intends to help bring into operation a trans-Pacific trade deal.

Malcolm Turnbull has sent the strongest message yet that he intends to link with Japan’s re-elected Shinzo Abe and other leaders to bring into operation the 11-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, with a window for the US to rejoin after the Trump era.

“What was previously ‘impossible’ is now achievable,” Turnbull told the Australia-Germany regional conference at the weekend, sharing the platform with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Both leaders sent the same message on the need to contain protectionist populist sentiments, while campaigning for open markets and the liberal world order, with the German President lamenting the protectionist lurch of the US under Donald Trump.

In a passionate speech about his economic beliefs, Turnbull said it was vital to maintain the dynamism of the Indo-Pacific region, and keeping the TPP agreement alive was central to this goal.

“I believe the logic is compelling and I note that the pundits — even the gloomiest — are starting to come around,” the Prime Minister said.

“If we succeed in securing a TPP 11 then it must be designed to enable the US to dock back in when it is ready to do so. I personally remain confident about America’s long-term interests and commitment but we cannot afford to wait.

“Our aim is to create an open architecture that enables any country to join, including China, provided they are willing to meet its high standards.”

From the time Trump announced the US withdrawal, Turnbull has been active with Abe in seeking to save the 12-nation agreement.

As former president Barack Obama said, the TPP was far beyond a trade deal. It was designed to ensure the US and its allies underwrote the trade rules for the region rather than allowing China to fill the vacuum.

This is still Turnbull’s vision. He told the Perth conference it was vital to preserve a rules-based economic order. “It promises greater transparency and a stronger rule of law in a world which is dangerously short of both,’’ he said.

The Turnbull-Abe vision aims to save the TPP and the region from Trump’s irresponsible protectionism by proceeding with the agreement without the US and assuming that the US will join down the track. There is, however, no guarantee of this, given protectionism has infected the Democratic Party.

The reality is that the US needs a regional economic plan for the Asia-Pacific region and the TPP was designed to run in parallel with the Obama military “pivot” to Asia.

Turnbull said the task had been to persuade all members of the group to “stick to their original commitments” and refrain from unpicking the deal.

With Turnbull travelling to Vietnam this week for the APEC leaders’ summit, the issue of regional trade will be paramount. He said the core Australian objective was a system of open trade regionalism.

He said while China’s Belt and Road Initiative “has a role to play”, Australia was not in the business of “barracking for one strategic investment agenda over another” and would judge individual proposals on merit.

Significant differences are emerging between the Liberals and Labor over China. While Labor is calling on Australia to seize the advantages of the Belt and Road investment agenda, the Turnbull government is more circumspect.

Turnbull’s language leaves no doubt he is sceptical of the values China brings to the economic systems of the region. “Protecting individuals from the exercise of arbitrary state power is the way to sustain the marketplace of enterprise and ideas,’’ he said.

Nevertheless, Turnbull said Australia would be an active participant in negotiations over the China-driven plan for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership.