Chief negotiators of 11 signatory countries to the Trans-Pacific Partnership held talks in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, in late October and early November to work out details of a new deal following withdrawal of the Unite States from the free trade pact in January. The negotiations were held at a hotel located within a stone’s throw of Tokyo Disneyland, and because it was the Halloween season, the negotiators wearing business suits ended up walking through the hotel floor filled with people dressed as Disney characters. Japanese government officials said they looked for a hotel in the whole of the main island of Japan and it was the only hotel they could … Continue reading →

DANANG, Vietnam, Nov. 12 — Trade ministers from the remaining Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) members reached a Nov. 11 political agreement to keep the trade deal alive without the United States, despite Canada’s last-minute balking at the talks. They agreed to suspend 20 provisions of the original TPP, mostly dealing with intellectual property rights such as the data exclusivity period for biologic drugs, until the U.S. might return to the deal. The TPP has also been renamed as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) with 11 members. The CPTPP countries are Japan, Canada, Australia, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, Brunei, Chile, Peru and Vietnam. “It is an important … Continue reading →