Sense from Goff who comes out in support of TPP

Stuff reports:

Senior Labour MP Phil Goff says it is unlikely the party would have to breach parts of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPPA) free trade deal if it came to power, with “more than one way to skin the cat” regarding its concerns.

What Goff is saying that while TPP wil not let you ban foreigners from buying houses, it would allow you to impose 100% stamp duty on them, which is effectively the same.

This is very different to the ramblings from Little who has said they’ll just ignore the parts they don’t like!

Goff, a former Labour leader and the trade minister who signed a free trade agreement with China in 2008, told TV3’s Paul Henry he had encouraged his party colleagues to consider the costs of opting out of the deal, which was “not the monster” that opponents were afraid of.

Goff is right. The problem is his colleagues have spent two years claiming it is a monster and Little campaigned for the leadership on the basis of opposing it.

Goff say he “maybe [knew] a little bit more about the trade than some of the others” in Labour due to his involvement in initial negotiations, and said he had asked his colleagues to consider the costs of not being in the TPPA.

“This is a deal that’s going to get bigger: It’s 12 countries now, but I can conceive that China will come in, South Korea will come in.

There would be significant costs to not being in the TPPA. As Clark said your biggest fear is a trade bloc forming you are not part of.

Well done to Phil Goff for being the first sane voice from Labour so far on TPP.