2) Geopolitics. The TPP is an economic means to achieve a geopolitical vision, to rebalance America's priorities and increase its influence in Asia. For one, the agreement draws closer together two allies -- the United States and Japan. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has heralded the plan as central to his Abenomics growth plan, and the accord may even boost Japan's GDP by more than 2 percent, according to the Peterson Institute for International Economics. In contrast, China is conspicuously absent from the agreement.
Even though China's economy is suffering a slowdown, it still has deep economic ties with other Asian countries. For example, Japan is one of the largest foreign direct investors in China, and there was over $330 billion in trade between these two countries in 2012.
The TPP creates a sizeable counterweight to China's economic influence in the region. There is hope that one day China may even join the TPP, wanting to access better trade terms with countries with which it is already trading. Moreover, the success of TPP may generate momentum to the U.S.-EU trade pact known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) which has stalled.