Progress in latest round of TPP talks in Singapore - Channel NewsAsia

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Progress in latest round of TPP talks in Singapore
By Wong Siew Ying | Posted: 13 March 2013 2138 hrs

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SINGAPORE : The Trade and Industry Ministry says "solid progress" has been made in the 16th round of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade negotiations. The 10-day meeting in Singapore concluded on Wednesday amid speculation that Japan could announce its entry to TPP talks as early as Friday. When will Japan come onboard?

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This is the burning question as the chief negotiators from the 11 economies take their seats at the media conference to wrap up the latest round of Trans-Pacific Partnership talks. Ng Bee Kim, Singapore Chief Negotiator, says : "If Japan formally announce its interest to join the TPP party, what will happen is that Japan will have to enter into bilateral consultations with TPP parties, individually and as a group. Entry to the TPP must be supported by a consensus. We are now in round 16, in a very advanced stage of negotiation, so the TPP parties will also want to be reassured that the entry of new members will continue to keep up with the good momentum that they have achieved so far." Ms Ng adds that it's unlikely that Japan will be joining the next round of talks to be held in Peru in May. She says: "And if there is a consensus amongst countries for Japan's membership, individual TPP party will also have their own domestic consultations and, where applicable, domestic legal procedures towards agreeing to integrate new members. In that regard I don't think we are looking at Japan specifically coming onboard in Lima."

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Progress in latest round of TPP talks in Singapore

The TPP negotiations which started in March 2010 is an ongoing free trade agreement discussion among 11 countries - Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the US and Vietnam. Among other things, it seeks to reduce barriers to trade and investment, and possibly pave the way for a Free Trade Area in the Asia-Pacific region. In pushing to seal the agreement, the negotiators will have to resolve differences over provisions for agriculture, textile and pharmaceutical products. For example, the US wants strong intellectual property protection for pharmaceuticals but some critics are worried that it will make drugs unaffordable for the poor in developing countries. Barbara Weisel, US Chief Negotiator, says: "The discussions that were held here were an exchange of information, so that we could be sure that we all understood the manner in which each of the parties handle the issues under discussion relating to pharmaceutical IP issues. As you know, we have been internally discussing what approaches might be possible in the US and those consultations internally are still underway. Until we conclude those discussions internally we will not be prepared to put forward a proposal. However the discussions here were valuable in informing discussions we are having internally in the US." While progress has been made here in Singapore, the negotiators say there are more challenging issues to tackle, and these include intellectual property, environment, competition and labour. And these are the issues that will be discussed when they next meet in Lima, Peru, in May this year. The talks in Lima are scheduled for 15 to 24 May. The TPP countries hope a deal can be reached within the year, but it appears there's still a lot of work to be done. - CNA/ch

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Progress in latest round of TPP talks in Singapore - Channel NewsAsia

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