Category Archives: Farm Policy

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 →

TOKYO, Nov. 3 — Japanese Economy Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said on Nov. 2 that Japan is determined to strike a new trade agreement in principle on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) without the United States during the Nov. 8-9 ministerial meeting in Vietnam. “I am determined to make a new deal at the meeting,” said Motegi at a press conference. Officials from the 11 TPP members met in Urayasu city, near Tokyo, from Oct. 31 to Nov. 1. They managed to narrow differences, by focusing the list of provisions that will be put on ice in the hopes that the U.S. will return to the TPP. The negotiators now hope progress … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Nov. 7 – Two days before the meeting of the leaders of Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) member countries in Danang, Vietnam, a group of protestors including those involved in consumers’ cooperative societies and the agricultural industry gathered in front of the House of Councillors’ Office Building in Tokyo, Japan, to protest against the government’s stance on the TPP free trade deal. The protestors strongly criticized that the government is trying to reach a broad agreement at the TPP talks, scheduled on November 9, 2017, without explaining the nation the progress of the discussions and the contents of the deal. “The government is ignoring people’s concerns over the deal. We’ll … Continue reading →

URAYASU, Nov. 2 — Officials from the remaining 11 members of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) have managed to narrow differences, raising hopes that they could reach a new trade deal without the United States during their Nov. 8-9 ministerial meeting in Vietnam. TPP-11 officials met in Urayasu city, near Tokyo, for three days that ended on Nov. 1. They focused on narrowing the list of provisions that will be put on ice in the hopes that the U.S. will return to the TPP. “We advanced the discussion,” Kazuyoshi Umemoto, Japan’s chief negotiator, told reporters after the meeting. Umemoto said members agreed on certain provisions, including the data exclusivity period for biologic … Continue reading →