LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Trade ministers from a dozen Pacific Rim nations
failed to reach a deal on a new trade agreement that would cover nearly
40 percent of the global economy, U.S. Trade Representative Michael
Froman said Friday.
Froman, reading from a statement on behalf of all of the ministers, said the parties made significant progress and agreed to continue their discussions.
The countries haven’t yet set a date for future talks. Froman said some issues were bilateral in nature, and some will involve groups.
“I feel very gratified about the progress that’s been made and I am confident that through our continued intensive engagement that we’ll be able to tackle the remaining issues successfully,” Froman said in response to a reporter’s question about whether he was disappointed about the lack of a deal.
Japan’s economic and fiscal policy minister, Akira Amari, said he thought a deal would be reached with one more meeting.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations are aimed at erasing most tariffs and other barriers to trade and investment among participants. It would also clarify and standardize trade rules, making it easier for companies to sell goods and services in the Pacific Rim.
The wide-ranging discussions have addressed tariffs on autos, rice and dairy products, as well as intellectual property protections for pharmaceuticals.
The talks have also covered establishing environmental protections for participant nations, which range from developing countries such as Vietnam to industrial powers such as Japan.
President Barack Obama’s administration has said a pact would boost U.S. economic growth and help keep high-quality jobs in the country by increasing exports.
The proposed deal is a central element of Obama’s efforts to boost U.S. influence in Asia and to serve as an economic counterweight to China.
Critics have complained that the deal is being negotiated in secret and that it favors multinational corporations over workers and consumers.
New Zealand Trade Minister Tim Groser said to reach a complicated trade agreement, parties must slowly resolve issues one by one until only one or two of the most difficult questions remain. He said dairy — of which New Zealand is a major exporter — is one of these difficult issues.
Groser didn’t provide details, in an effort to avoid causing problems for his negotiating partners, but said the countries have agreed to what he called “commercially meaningful access.” The definition of what that means is being negotiated, he said.
“I’m extremely confident that we will find that sweet spot and advance the interests of efficient dairy exporters around the world, not just mine, and yet find a way of dealing with the political complexities for those of our friends around the table who are less competitive,” Groser said.
Asked how the countries could address falling expectations for a deal, Amari said they should quickly reach an agreement.
He argued a pact by the 12 nations would become the standard for the Asia-Pacific region.
“There are countries already waiting to join. Their numbers will grow. With the World Trade Organization stuck, TPP may become the standard for the world,”Amari said.
The ministers held their latest round of negotiations at a hotel on Maui’s Kaanapali Beach for four days this week.
The U.S. came to Maui strengthened by the Obama administration’s successful legislative fight winning fast-track negotiating authority. This allows Congress to approve or reject trade agreements, but not change or delay them.
The agreement was proposed by Chile, New Zealand and Singapore in 2002, but Washington has taken the lead in promoting it since joining the talks in 2008.
Participants include the United States, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
China, the world’s second largest economy after the U.S., is not part of the talks. But there’s potential it could join the pact later.
Beijing has been negotiating a separate agreement with many of the same nations that’s called the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. This pact would cover 16 countries, including the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as well as Australia, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The other day I saw a story that said the intellectual property issue was a big sticking point.
I see TPP and immediately think ToiletPaPer…
Now I’m thinking PayPerView…
Now I’m thinking…ViewFromTheTop
Now ----------your turn.
I’m down with TPP.
I am good with TPP because, at some point, we must have either trade deals that all are signed on to or no deals whatsoever and all nations acting separately in their own interests with no holds barred.
There definitely is the chance that low paid workers in America will suffer but there is also the opposite chance and most likely it will be a combination of both. Maybe, education and job training will come back into vogue and we can give up worrying about low paying jobs and work on bringing back career jobs with all the bennies.
America should be manufacturing all sorts of things, we have the knack for it and that is an American fact. There is a reason that Chinese products are called Chinese shit, because their products are shit. Cheaper means worse, cheaper doesn’t mean better. And look at how Chinese workers are treated, as liberals it is against all that we believe in to support that kind of abuse so that a few can become wealthy beyond imagination. TPP begins to ace China out and that fact alone is a great thing.
We Americans can have our productive working class and eat our paper shuffling wealthy class too.
I just get the feeling that being against TPP has become a sort of badge of honor with some progressives. Some see trade deals as being the sum total of the decline of the working class and that, the sentiment goes, if this country can only fight ALL of them then we’ll be better off. Of course, nothing is further from the truth. If the US had NO trade deals whatsoever, we (as workers) would still be losing the fight against the oligarchy and technology.
As an aside, I have the feeling that some of the so called progressives are against the TPP but think that having Uber move into every city creating “independent contractors” with no benefits is a good thing. Because that’s just progress.
This is great news considering the sleazy move Obama and Kerry pulled the other day, as reported here on 7/27. In case you missed it:
WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department on Monday took Malaysia and Cuba off its blacklist of countries failing to combat modern-day slavery, leaving the U.S. open to criticism that politics is swaying the often-contentious rankings in its annual human trafficking report.
Thailand, downgraded with Malaysia last year because of pervasive labor abuses in its lucrative fishing industry, remained on the blacklist. That will add to the growing strains in its once-strong relations with Washington. Critics contend that Malaysia’s upgrade is related to its participation in a U.S.-backed trade agreement among Pacific Rim countries. Thailand is not part of the proposed agreement.