Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the senator for his question, if not for his moustache! It is also good to see that the Nationals have formed a coalition on trade policy with the Greens. In Honolulu, the Prime Minister, Ms Gillard, announced the broad outlines of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The TPP is more than a traditional trade agreement; it will also deal with behind-the-border impediments to trade and investment. Current negotiating partners include Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, United States and Vietnam. This represents the first steps in the development of a 21st century free trade agreement, which will forge a pathway to free trade across the Asia-Pacific. TPP countries accounted for 21 per cent of Australia's total trade in 2010 and our trade with the Asia-Pacific region accounted for around 70 per cent of our total trade. The combined economy of the current negotiating countries is already larger than that of the European Union.