U.S. Official: TPP Could Be Reopened If Japan Joins After Entry Into Force

（※ここでWeisel は，日本が既定ＴＰＰ協定の章・条項の改訂・再交渉をする権利が
あるとは一言もいっていない。既存締結国の側に，日本に対処するために必要ならば改
訂や追加のための交渉を要求する可能性があること言及しているだけである。それ以上
でもそ
れ以下でもない。）
（※参加しようとする日本が提起するイッシューに対処することがあるとしても，それ
は既存参加国が自分達の利益獲得機会になると判断した場合である，という意味になっ
ていることに注意。）

（追伸、以上は以下から抜粋）　佐久総合病院　色平哲郎　いろひら拝

Inside U.S. Trade – 07/06/2012

U.S. Official: TPP Could Be Reopened If Japan Joins After Entry Into Force
SAN DIEGO — A U.S. trade official this week held open the possibility that cu
rrent parties
would seek to renegotiate a completed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreemen
t to address the
new issues that would arise if Japan sought to join after the deal has entered
into force.

USTR 代表補のワイゼルが7 月3 日の（南北アメリカ研究所での）発言で，もし日本が
一
旦出来上がって発効したＴＰＰ協定に加入しようとした場合，既存加盟国は日本が加盟
す
ることで新たに生じる諸問題に対処するために再交渉を要求することができるという可
能
性に言及した。

（※ここでWeisel は，日本が既定ＴＰＰ協定の章・条項の改訂・再交渉をする権利が
あ
るとは一言もいっていない。既存締結国の側に，日本に対処するために必要ならば改訂
や
追加のための交渉を要求する可能性があること言及しているだけである。それ以上でも
そ
れ以下でもない。）

In July 3 remarks at the Institute of the Americas here, Assistant U.S. Trade
Representative
Barbara Weisel said that the subsequent entry of Japan or another country woul
d likely require an
additional vote in Congress, as would be the case if TPP parties themselves re
opened the
agreement to change its obligations.

日本が後で加入することについては，再度議会の承認が必要となる。既存ＴＰＰ加盟国
が
協定を再交渉して，新たな約束がアメリカの国内法（協定実施法）の改訂を必要とする
こ
とになれば，それも同様に再度議会の承認が必要になる。（※６つ下の”パラグラフ赤
字部
分”も含めて。）

Weisel said the “general approach” to future TPP accessions would be for acced
ing countries
to sign on to the agreement’s existing rules and make specific market access c
ommitments on
goods and services.

将来のＴＰＰ加盟のための一般的アプローチは既存の協定のルールに署名し，モノとサ
ー
ビスの市場アクセス約束を行なうということである。

But she held open the possibility that TPP partners may take advantage of the
opportunity
posed by the entry of a new country to revisit the agreement. This could be to
address any issues
that the current TPP members feel were not fully dealt with in the initial agr
eement or issues that
the acceding country raises.

TPP の（既存）参加国が，新しい国（日本）の参加によって生じる機会から利益を得よ
う
とすることはありうることだ。このこと（※日本の参加がもたらす既存参加国にとって
の
利益獲得機会の追求）は，オリジナル協定の中では完全には取り扱われていないと既存
参
加国が感じる何らかのイッシュー，あるいは参加しようとする国（日本）が提起（rais
e）
するイッシューに，対処するためのものとなりうる。

（※参加しようとする日本が提起するイッシューに対処することがあるとしても，それ
は
既存参加国が自分達の利益獲得機会になると判断した場合である，という意味になって
い
ることに注意。）

“Let’s just say for example Japan decided it wanted to join, and it wasn’t in
the first tranche,”
she said. “They’re in the second tranche, and there’s a whole new set of issue
s that are related to
Japan that we didn’t actually completely cover properly in the agreement that
now are before us
because Japan has decided it wants to join.” In that case, the TPP parties wou
ld likely reopen the
original deal in order to consider those issues related to Japan, she said.

日本が第２陣として交渉参加したとしたら，我々（既存交渉国）が日本が交渉参加希望
を
決定する前の合意の中で完全には，適切には，カバーしていない日本に関連する新たな
イ
ッシュー群が現れることがあろう。そのような場合，TPP 既存参加国が（※「日本が」
ではない），そうしたイッシューを考慮するためにオリジナル協定を再交渉することは
，
ありそうなことである。

She also held open the possibility that acceding countries would seek changes
to the TPP that
the current members would have to entertain. “And I think there will be issues
that those
[acceding] countries want to reopen that we would have to determine as a group
whether or not
we want to do that,” Weisel said.

Weisel 代表補はまた，新たに参加しようとする諸国（日本）が，既存参加国が喜んで
考慮
しなくてはならないようなTPP 協定の変更を，要請することがある可能性に言及した。

（※ entertain は周知のようにそもそも「楽しませる」であり，「（提案などを，好
意的に）
受け入れる／考慮する」とあって，単なる「考慮」ではない。つまり日本がどんなに「
seek
求めて」も，それが既存参加国が喜んで考慮したくなるようなイッシューでなければ，
彼
らは考慮しないのである。）

At the same time, Weisel noted that it could be problematic to reopen a deal t
hat has just been
concluded. “It’s always a tricky question when you’re opening these trade agre
ements, because
once you reopen it, you just don’t want to spend another five years redoing wh
at you just did,”
she said.

（上述の”パラグラフ赤字部分”開始）
Weisel made the overall point that if parties agreed on additional obligations
after a TPP
agreement was in place, it would require another vote in Congress if the chang
e required any
changes to U.S. law.
（上述の”パラグラフ赤字部分”終了）

“And you would always have to bring it before Congress as a new trade
agreement if you’re adding a new country anyway,” she added.
According to Weisel, the U.S. and its negotiating partners are committed to ma
king TPP a “living
agreement” that will not only provide for additional countries to join over ti
me, but also allow
parties to update it to keep pace with a changing global economy.
Weisel suggested it was still unclear whether Japan would be able to resolve i
ts “difficult
domestic debate” over whether to join TPP. “They have to sort out internally w
hat their priorities
are and whether or not they can go forward,” she said. “And they seem to have
a plan, but we’ll
wait to see how successful they are.”
Asked about Japan’s possible entry at a July 3 stakeholder briefing, Singapore
‘s chief
negotiator noted that Japan has not made up its mind on whether it wants to jo
in TPP, and
signaled that an initial agreement with the current group plus Canada and Mexi
co is the most
likely outcome, one source said.
A private-sector source here speculated that Japan may have missed its “window
of
opportunity” to join the TPP talks in the first tranche when Canada and Mexico
were invited to
join at last month’s G-20 meeting.

民間部門消息筋は，日本はカナダとメキシコが先月交渉参加を認められた時，すなわち
追
加参加「第一陣」（the first tranche）として入る「窓」を逸した。日本が参加する
とすれば，
それは「第二陣」（the second tranche）だ。

（※カナダとメキシコでさえ「二級国家」扱いである。その後の「第二陣」となれば，
そ
れは「二級国家」より下，すなわち「三級国家」にしかなりえない。）

This source pointed out that this could be a preferable outcome for the Obama
administration,
as it would not have to deal with difficult political issues such as oppositio
n to Japan’s entry by
U.S. auto companies and their congressional supporters, especially during the
presidential
campaign.

しかしオバマ政権にとっては，自動車産業というやっかいな反対勢力がいる日本の参加
が
大統領選よりも後回しになることは，有り難いこと。

Weisel made clear that the stated goal of TPP members is to eventually expand
the agreement
to include all 21 countries that are members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Coop
eration forum,
including China. She said this would occur in a step by step process involving
“successive
tranches of negotiations.”
Asked whether China would ultimately join TPP, Weisel largely echoed comments
in May by
USTR Ron Kirk that this decision is up to China (TPP Special Report, May 18).
“And so the
question is, does China want to join and, if so, is it prepared to meet the st
andards of the
agreement. And that’s not something for any of the current members to decide,
that’s something
for China to decide,” she said.
At the same time, she noted China is following the development of TPP, and tha
t the U.S. and
China have exchanged information to keep each other informed of the efforts ea
ch one is pursuing
in the Asia-Pacific region. But she said China at the moment is focused on oth
er regional trade
negotiations, including one with Japan and South Korea.
She gave a similar assessment regarding South Korea, which has not yet express
ed an interest
in joining TPP. “So far [South Korea] seems very focused on other trade negoti
ations but has an
eye on what’s going on in TPP,” she said.
She argued that it is not the intent of the TPP to threaten China’s interests
in the region. “We
are all acutely aware of the fact that it would not be a helpful thing to have
this perceived as
some kind of threat to China or an agreement that was intended to exclude Chin
a or somehow
encircle the region and cut China out,” she said. “That’s not the intent.”