No doubt the upcoming presidential election has the potential to be the biggest game-changer for the year, but with regard to the international trade community, the Trans-Pacific Partnership may likely be the "change agent" for 2016 and, assuming passage, for many years to come.
With 12 member countries involving 40 percent of the world's GDP, upon signing, the TPP became the largest free trade agreement in history. There are numerous commentators who have opined that the TPP is not your typical free trade agreement in that duty reduction and/or tariff elimination are not the major hallmarks they once were in relation to free trade agreements.
Put another way, because tariffs are already so low, there are those who believe that the TPP's real substance involves other matters — e.g., issues related to labor, the environment and intellectual property rights. There are also commentators who are predicting that the agreement won't make it through the up-down vote in Congress.
On the other side of the fence, there are plenty of people who believe that the TPP eventually will pass. Many of these parties also know that despite lower global tariffs, there are millions of dollars in duties that could be saved upon implementation of the TPP — for example, certain clothing and footwear imported into the U.S. from either Vietnam or Malaysia.
In my view, if they haven't already done so, the far-sighted importer will take the time to closely examine the specifics of the TPP now, such as learning the TPP's new sourcing opportunities, unique rules of origin and requirements related to supporting documentation for claims made under the TPP. Of course, this learning process applies to U.S. exporters as well, given the TPP's additional export opportunities.