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Trans Pacific Partnership "beneficial" but political problems remain – Edelman poll

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Report By: Mark O’Brien

A recent snap poll conducted by Edelman has found that politicians across multiple countries are on a potential collision course with business and consumers around the ratification of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP).

Since the announcement of the agreement on October 5, Edelman notes that commentary across the member nations and those watching from a distance have focused heavily on the challenges around the required ratification by each nation.

The polling, conducted between 7-9 October across the TPP signatory nations, reveals broad support for TPP across business and consumer.   Some 1000 consumers and 1000 businesses were polled across the TPP nations, excluding Brunei and Peru. The polling was conducted to understand the business and consumer awareness and perspectives around TPP.

“In the days since TPP, we have seen significant commentary around what this means for business and consumers,” said Iain Twine, CEO of Edelman Southeast Asia and Australasia. “A lot of it has been negative, which is driven by the secretive nature of the negotiations and soon to be revealed text. It has been assumed that people don’t want this, but this data reveals something different.”

“Because each TPP Government is responsible for articulating TPP to their nations, and to ratifying within their local parliamentary processes, there are going to be multiple voices trying to push through or shut down the ratification process. Our polling shows is that TPP is an issue people care about, and the political process will have to take account of these views,” continued Twine.

Highlights from the Edelman polling includes:

Business Polling

  • 69 percent of business and 67 percent of consumers from TPP nations believe that TPP will be beneficial to their own economies.
  • Business from Vietnam, US, Chile and Singapore lead the way in terms of a belief that TPP will benefit them. Japan and New Zealand business have the lowest belief that TPP will benefit them at 17 percent respectively.
  • 52 percent of business feel they are prepared for TPP, 53 percent of business feels it will have a positive impact on jobs and employment.
  • Business across the TPP nations feel that ‘cross border relationships’ and ‘access to the products and services’ are the most positive aspects of TPP, and that ‘rules and regulations’ are the most negative aspect of TPP.
  • Awareness of TPP across business is highest in New Zealand and Japan at 97 percent and lowest in Mexico at 66 percent.

Consumer Polling

  • 67 percent of consumers feel that TPP will be beneficial to the economy, however, only 47 percent of consumers feel that TPP will be beneficial for them and their families.
  • 40 percent of consumers are worried about the impact of TPP on their jobs and employment. Canadians are the most concerned around the issue of jobs at 51 percent.
  • US consumers had the lowest awareness of TPP at 40 percent, while Japan had the highest awareness at 95 percent.
  • Malaysian consumers were the most skeptical of TPP with only 49 percent believing it will be beneficial for their economy, while 96 percent of Vietnamese consumers believe that TPP will be beneficial to their economy.

In addition to the polling, Edelman analysed the global conversation around TPP on Twitter. Significant chatter was obvious across the globe. Our analysis showed that the conversation was curated by only 1.4% of people engaged in the conversation.

“Although the TPP has yet to be ratified, there is a broad consensus that it will happen in a year or so,” said Chadd McLisky, managing director of the Edelman Southeast Asia & Australasia Corporate practice. “Even if the pact is then slowly rolled out over the next 10 years, no one in any of the member markets can be complacent. Everyone must start to review their reputations and business methods right now. All member markets have different priorities, but ultimately all companies are going to face significant new challenges in their marketing and business operations.”