Under a veil of secrecy, it seems the Trans-Pacific Partnership (or TPP) has been finalised. As the product of 15 years of multilateral negations between 12 countries, the announcement see new trade deals covering 40% of the global economy and involves all of Australia’s major training partners.

Trade Minister Andrew Robb is obviously delighted at the outcome - particularly given some of the final elements of the TPP were those Australia was adamant to see protected - namely in the area of ‘biologicals’ which largely the amount of time patents could be held for life-saving pharmaceuticals.

In this morning’s statement on the deal, Robb left no doubt as to where he saw the largest victory (the emphasis is his):

It will slash barriers to Australian goods exports, services and investment and eliminate 98 per cent of all tariffs across everything from beef, dairy, wine, sugar, rice, horticulture and seafood through to manufactured goods, resources and energy.

Other key victories include access to Japan for rice exports, and an increase in sugar exports to the United States. These are both heavily-protected industries, and the deal is the first win in either space for more than 20 years.

Taking one step back, it will be interesting to observe the trade landscape given the success Australia has already had in negotiating free-trade agreements. New Zealand, Japan, Korea, Canada and The United States are already in the bag, so that leaves an interesting array of countries that Australia will look to engage with as they continue to develop and promote their economies. These states are:

• Brunei Darussalam
• Chile
• Malaysia
• Mexico
• Singapore, and
• Vietnam

There will be plenty of interesting titbits to fall out of this agreement as the details become available. Certainly, we;re yet to hear confirmation of new interantional agreements Australia will need to toe the line on (copyright protection and illegal downloading are the most likely), but for now this is another big tick in a very large box for the Government.

For further details on the Trans-Pacific Parnership, read the Trade Minister's full statment here.