TPP Should Alarm Gulf States as US Turns to Pacific Rim - Ex-UN Delegate

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal should worry the Gulf countries, as the United States turns to the Pacific Rim, pursuing more promising economic relations, a former delegate to the UN Convention on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) told Sputnik on Monday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – On Monday, 12 Pacific Rim countries, including the United States, reached a consensus on the wording and subject matter of the TPP free trade agreement.

"This TPP ought to send shockwaves across the Gulf, because… it is showing that the United States is serious about re-balancing its focus out of the Middle East and towards the Asia Pacific region," Raj Bhala, who is also a University of Kansas Law Professor, said.

The Gulf countries face a real challenge to sustain their programs of attracting foreign direct investment and diversifying trade, Bhala added.

Besides the United States and Canada, the TPP deal includes Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Mexico, Taiwan, Peru, Brunei, Chile, Singapore and Malaysia.

The US Congress is expected to vote on the controversial agreement in the beginning of 2016.

Bhala's book on the TPP deal, TPP Objectively: A Neutral Examination of History's Largest Free Trade Agreement, is due to be released in mid-2016.