For the first time in any U.S. trade agreement, TPP will include stand-alone chapters dedicated to development and capacity-building, as well as a wide range of commitments to promote sustainable development and inclusive economic growth, reduce poverty, promote food security, and combat child and forced labor.

HOW TPP PROMOTES DEVELOPMENT

TPP promotes development by requiring TPP countries to:

• Remove tariff and non-tariff barriers that impede growth and reduce living standards.
• Protect workers and preserve the environment with the strongest standards that have ever been included in a trade agreement. These commitments are fully enforceable.  
• Enhance food security by eliminating barriers to trade in agricultural goods and commodities, thereby reducing costs; reducing red tape at borders so that perishable food doesn’t go to waste; encouraging science-based laws, regulation, and policies to guarantee food safety; and targeting illegal fishing and logging, helping to eliminate direct threats to food security and causes of socio-economic instability in rural areas and regions dependent on artisanal fisheries.
• Promote transparency, participation, and accountability in government decision-making. These are often among the most basic building blocks of good governance, and the commitments in TPP require countries to ensure that citizens are able to make their voices heard and help shape their own futures.
• Fight corruption. Public corruption undermines political stability, health and welfare, sustainable development, and environmental protection. Among other things, TPP requires countries to ratify or accede to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) and, for the first time, requires governments to adopt laws criminalizing corruption in accounting practices.
• Protect digital freedom. TPP encourages open markets and free flows of data that reduce telecommunications costs and provide lower-income people access to the Internet. This will also help low-income and rural people save through connections to “mobile wallet” services, access information to help them grow crops and sell at the best price, connect to the Internet to access state-of-the-art healthcare, and encourage the formation of small businesses.