Japan says TPP trade deal talks ‘agree in principle’
DANANG, Vietnam, Nov 9, (RTRS): Japan said ministers of countries remaining in the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal had agreed in principle on Thursday on a way to proceed after the withdrawal of the United States left its survival in doubt.
Talks on the TPP, ditched by US President Donald Trump in one of his first acts in office, have been held on the sidelines of Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings in the Vietnamese resort of Danang.
Clear agreement on proceeding without the United States would be a boost for the principle of multilateral free trade pacts over the bilateral dealmaking that Trump favours, but some countries have appeared reluctant to hurry.
Asked by reporters about the results of a meeting of TPP ministers, Japanese Economy Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said “(they) agree in principle”, adding that the ministers had finalised “a list of suspensions” — clauses that would be suspended to avoid renegotiating the whole agreement.
While his Mexican counterpart, Ildefonso Guajardo, also said that a deal had been reached and Australian trade minister Steven Ciobo said the meeting was “very good”, other countries made no comment.
The TPP aims to eliminate tariffs on industrial and farm products across a bloc whose trade totalled $356 billion last year. It also has provisions for protecting everything from labour rights to the environment to intellectual property — one of the main sticking points.
Asia-Pacific ministers struggled Thursday to agree on a joint statement on free trade, a rare tussle over a normally routine document that highlights how Donald Trump’s protectionist “America First” stance is knotting up global trade relations.
World leaders are gathering in the Vietnamese city of Danang this week for the annual Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.
Russia’s Vladimir Putin, US President Trump, and China’s Xi Jinping are among the power players who will attend the 21-member summit — the latter pair giving speeches likely to present divergent visions on the future of global trade on Friday.
But even before Trump’s expected touchdown on Friday, regional diplomats found themselves in a wrangle sparked by the White House’s new policy direction.
Over the last 48 hours trade and foreign ministers have been in talks over issuing a joint statement detailing their common goals, normally something of a formality.
But this year they have so far been unable to reach a consensus.
Three diplomatic sources with knowledge of the talks said the cause was US negotiators sticking to their “America First” lines and pushing for more protectionist wording.