Dead and gone

US President Donald Trump has officially withdrawn the USA from the Trans-Pacific partnership Agreement. Good. The TPPA was a shit deal for New Zealand, which our craven government signed up to essentially for fear of being left out. Now the US is out, we're free to talk to the other parties and maybe try and negotiate a better deal, one which brings us actual benefits and doesn't saddle us with American IP totalitarianism.

Meanwhile, I'm wondering what happens to the law National passed to enact the TPPA. Its commencement clause says that it can only come into force on the date that the TPPA does. Obviously, that's no longer possible. Unlike other bills with this sort of structure, there isn't a fallback date, or a deadline after which it self-repeals if not in force. So it looks like the TPPA's legacy will be a dead law hanging around on the statute books until a future Parliament recognises reality and repeals it.