TPP is an American plot: Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ridiculed an Australian-backed regional trade deal as an attempt by America to further its own interests.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott and US President Barack Obama will discuss the ambitious Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal with other regional leaders at the APEC summit in Beijing next week.

Mr Putin said the TPP talks had been held "behind closed doors" for almost five years and the public have no access to them.

Statements about the strong progress of the talks had been refuted, he said.

"Obviously, the Trans-Pacific Partnership is just another US attempt to build an architecture of regional economic cooperation that the USA would benefit from," Mr Putin said in an interview with leading Chinese media this week before he leaves for the Beijing summit.

"At the same time, I believe that the absence of two major regional players such as Russia and China in its composition will not promote the establishment of effective trade and economic cooperation."

Mr Putin said he would instead back a Chinese-led "road map" towards an Asia-Pacific free trade zone, a draft of which will be discussed at APEC.

He said multilateral trade in the Asia-Pacific region could only be strong "if the interests of all states of the region are taken into account".

"This approach is reflected in the draft of the Beijing road map," he said.

The TPP will cover almost 40 per cent of the world's economies and set boundaries for global commerce between 12 countries.

Australia's Trade Minister Andrew Robb said after the most recent talks in Sydney the deal was "within reach of the finishing line".


Sumber - Business Spectator