Japan/US close to burying differences in controversial TPP talks

The latest Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) meeting  ended yesterday in Singapore building on progress made during previous rounds of talks and narrowing differences on key issues concerning market access.

Market access remains one of the main obstacles for passing the TPP which will reportedly take more time to reach an agreement.

Reading from a joint statement at the conclusion of the talks in Singapore, Trade Minister Tim Grosser said the TPP is making progress.

“The rules negotiation is in a very advanced stage. I'm very comfortable with the direction of travel," he told media.

He said the negotiations aren’t going to provide “instant gratification.” Despite four long years of talking, the TPP is “absolutely moving forward, in my opinion but we are not there yet.” Mr Groser says.

“We focused in particular on making meaningful progress on market access and also advanced outstanding rules issues in an effort to narrow our remaining difference."

It is still not clear whether the TPP talks will reach an agreement this year. They were scheduled to finalise before the close of 2013 but complications delayed any agreement until potentially the end of 2014.

The 12 countries (Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Vietnam, Singapore and the US) will meet in July and then again in November.

Two of the partnership’s pivotal nations, Japan and the US, say their differences on agricultural policy are narrowing and they can “see a pathway forward.”

Both have conducted tough sideline talks about access to Japan’s agricultural sector and the US’ automobile market.

Akira Amari, a Japanese minister negotiating at the meetings, said he and US trade representative Michael Froman have discussed the issues directly.

Mr Amari says he would do his best to open the Japanese market even though it "cannot" open its agricultural product fully.

He says this is the only way Japan can contribute to the high standards of the TPP.

Mr Groser says market access was always going to be the hardest part of the negotiations.

"We are dealing with things that have left aside after some 60 or 70 years of multilateral negotiations, and there are enormous tariff and other barriers left in some of these areas," he says.

The US has yet to get the "fast track" so that it has the authorisation to negotiate the terms and put them to the congress for vote without the need for amendments.

Mr Groser says it's not practical to set a timeline for finalisation of the agreement.

nsmith@nbr.co.nz