The stages of formation and basic principles of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Organisation

The main goal of this study is to determine the stages of development, conceptual notion of the agreement on the establishment of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), as well as the political and economic role and place of a new organization in the modern system of international relations. Systemic-structural, comparative and historical research methods are applied in the course of research.

The obtained results have established that the idea of TTP  had derived  from  consultations  between  individual  States within the framework of APEC (the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) in the 1990s, through the agreement on a closer economic cooperation between four small countries (New Zealand, Singapore, Chile and Brunei) in 2005 to an  ambitious  project, negotiations on which were up to 5 October 2015 (the agreement on the establishment was signed on 4 February 2016) with the participation of twelve leading countries in the Asia-Pacific region (APR), including Japan and the United States. TTP aims at rationalizing and harmonizing of economic cooperation between the parties, legalizing the agreement on free trade  in a more accurate system meant to be founded on common rules. Given the comprehensive coverage of trade fields, openness to accession by third countries, and inclusion in the agreement items of “new generation” (intellectual property rights, telecommunications, and environmental standards), the Trans-Pacific Partnership has gained the reputation of a “gold standard” agreement. At the same time, TTP can be considered as a proposed by the USA political and economic alternative to the growing influence of China in the Asia Pacific region. Russia – a member of APEC – also does not have any clear position regarding the new organization. Establishment of the largest trading block in the world that excludes China and Russia is an equivalent to drawing of economic dividing lines in the region which largely influences the growth of the world economy.