TRADE talks in Ottawa, Canada between Japan, the United States and the ten other Pacific Rim nations involved are said to be key to advancing the planned Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) to its final stage by year-end.
The announcement by chief Japanese negotiator Koji Tsuruoka follows comments by US President Barack Obama last month who said his aim was to have a free trade draft he could take in to meetings with other leaders in November, reported Reuters.
"I understand that this meeting in Ottawa will be a very important step to bring the TPP to the final stage towards the end of the year," Mr Tsuruoka told reporters in Ottawa. It was he who revealed the conception date of the new grouping.
Frustrated by the lack of progress in global talks at the World Trade Organization, the 12 Pacific countries are trying to devise a regional pact, although, it could still get bogged down over issues, such as Japanese farm tariffs.
Mr Tsuruoka said the US and Japan made "huge progress" on auto and agricultural trade issues when President Obama visited Tokyo in April, and they would continue negotiations in the wake of the multilateral TPP session.
He said it was "a little too high a goal" to hope the Ottawa talks would solve all the remaining TPP sticking points.
Besides the US and Japan, the other countries in the TPP are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
MARKETS
10 July 2014 - 19:32
Trans-Pac Partnership talks to take grouping to final stages: Japan
TRADE talks in Ottawa, Canada between Japan, the United States and the ten other Pacific Rim nations involved are said to be key to advancing the planned Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) to its final stage by year-end.
MARKETS
10 July 2014 - 19:32
Trans-Pac Partnership talks to take grouping to final stages: Japan
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