The minister also countered the argument that the levy would have a negative effect on investment, saying that Waitrose supermarkets had said it would not put them off opening stores in Northern Ireland.

BBC: Rates (Amendment) Bill second stage

The main argument used in favour of TPP in Japan has been defined in negative terms: that without it, Japanese firms will be hard-pressed to compete with South Korean ones benefiting from their country's myriad free-trade deals of late.

ECONOMIST: A battle over American-led free trade brews in Asia