Mexico and 11 other Pacific countries reached an agreement on Monday on an extensive trade pact that will reduce tariff barriers and establish common standards for those nations, this pact is known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership Treaty (TPP).

This initiative was promoted by the United States, in Los Cabos, during 2002 to promote the liberalization of trade and investment.

On October 5, 2015, the TPP negotiations concluded and following the signature of the Trade Ministers, held on February 4 in Auckland, New Zealand, all TPP countries will have to carry out their internal legal processes in order to that the treaty is approved; In the case of Mexico, on April 27, 2016, the official texts of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Treaty (TPP) were delivered to the Senate for discussion and eventual ratification, in strict adherence to the Law on Approval of International Treaties in Economic Matter

The TPP is the most relevant and modern trade agreement in the world, since it has 30 chapters that include, in addition to the topics traditionally incorporated into free trade agreements (such as market access, rules of origin, services and investment) , other disciplines to regulate the activities of state-owned companies, intellectual property, regulatory coherence, electronic commerce and facilities for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), among others.

This covers different aspects that will make commerce more agile and simple, reducing costs and times to do business, always counting on the protection of clear and precise rules for everyone, in addition to a market of 800 million people and will represent 40 % of the world Gross Domestic Product. Net earnings are estimated at $ 295 billion a year.

The member countries are: Japan, Brunei, Chile, New Zealand, Singapore, the United States, Australia, Peru, Vietnam, Malaysia, Canada and Mexico.

The Chinese government said in 2013 that it would study joining, but is now promoting the Free Trade Area Asia Pacific (FTAAP), a plan that rivals the TPP.

The four main features of the TPP:

1. Improve market access: Eliminate or reduce tariff barriers in six new markets and deepen the benefits that we already have in five countries with which a treaty has already been signed.
2. Address new business challenges: Promotes innovation, productivity, and competitiveness.
3. Inclusive trade: Incorporates new elements to ensure that economies of any level of development and companies of any size, particularly SMEs, can benefit from trade.
4. Platform for regional integration: Seeks to enhance the productive chain, and that other economies eventually integrate.

Mexico, managed to consolidate a leadership position (with the support of the private sector and civil society) on issues and sectors that are important to us as a country. In addition, with the Structural Reforms recently undertaken, we will have better conditions to maximize the benefits of this agreement.