This report discusses the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP), a free trade agreement that includes nations on both sides of the Pacific. Original members of the TPP were Brunei, Chile, New Zealand, and Singapore. The United States, Australia, Peru, and Vietnam have committed themselves to joining and expanding this group. This report discusses similar trade partnerships, the importance of Asia to U.S. trade and security interests, and U.S. participation in the TPP.

This report focuses primarily on U.S. economic interests in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement. It provides a comparative economic analysis of the countries currently negotiating the TPP and describes the U.S. trade flows with these countries at the bilateral level and in relation to the countries' economic linkages with the rest of the world. It also provides information on the existing trade agreements of TPP countries. As such, this report aims to serve as an introduction to the economic relationship these countries have, both individually and collectively, with the United States.

Script from the WBAP-TV/NBC station in Fort Worth, Texas, relating a news story of the south Vietnamese government who said that the Chinese Task Force that drive Vietnamese forces from the Paracel Islands may be preparing to head for the sparkly chain farther south.