Canada and the Trans-Pacific Partnership: Considerations for the Ratification Debate

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) has generated a vigorous debate that features widely differing estimates of its economic impact and claims regarding its broader significance in terms of setting the rules for global trade and in terms of its geopolitical impact. This policy brief analyzes the relevance of six studies that have featured prominently in the debate about the size of the TPP's economic impact in light of the publication of the TPP text, and examines critically the TPP's potential for positive economic spillovers on third parties, its role as an instrument of economic policy more broadly, its role as an instrument for leveraging progress on non-economic objectives, and its role as an instrument of geopolitics. It draws conclusions for Canada's position on the agreement as a contribution to the ratification debate.