Negotiators of the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact said Tuesday they would miss a year-end deadline to complete the deal.
“We identified potential landing zones for the majority of key outstanding issues in the text,” U.S. trade representative Michael Froman told reporters after four days of talks in Singapore, reading a joint statement from ministers and delegation heads. “We intend to meet again next month,” he said, with market access issues yet to be resolved.
Talks on the TPP, which would link an area with about $28 trillion in annual economic output, have faced differences over issues from agricultural tariffs to intellectual property. Leaders from the U.S. to Malaysia and Japan must also deal with opposition to the pact from lawmakers at home, an obstacle that will have to be overcome once the agreement itself is finalized.
No new timeline has been set to reach an agreement on the TPP, a pact that goes beyond usual trade deals that focus on tariffs and traditional goods such as agriculture. It would establish rules for digital commerce and include environmental standards and protection for companies that compete against government-backed businesses.
“To actually close a deal, then, is tricky,” said Deborah Elms, head of the Temasek Foundation Centre for Trade & Negotiations in Singapore, referring to the January meeting.
