Australia and the US have been key players in the establishment of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which may soon account for 40 per cent of global GDP, close to one third of global trade and 35 per cent of Australia’s bilateral trade. But with the entry of Japan into negotiations next month and a final agreement due in October, what will this large new trading group mean for Australia-US trade and the alliance? How important is its success for Barack Obama’s second-term trade policy?

This Alliance 21 Trade and Investment event brought together three leading analysts from the US and Australia to discuss the trade and economic ramifications of the TPP as part of a broader examination of US trade policy under President Barack Obama.

US trade policy expert and senior advisor at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, Sherman Katz, has provided trade policy advice for Democratic presidents and presidential hopefuls since 1972. He joined senior international economist at Westpac, Huw McKay, and NSW state director with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Virginia Greville for this panel discussion moderated by chief business correspondent with Sky News Business and 2013 US Studies Centre/World Press Institute fellowship recipient, Carson Scott.