TPP minister Akira Amari (left) and U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman (second from right) hold a press conference after the TPP ministerial meeting on Monday, Oct. 27, in Sydney along with the ministers of other TPP member nations.
Satomi Tamai – Sydney
Ministers from the 12 member countries engaged in the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks said Monday, Oct. 27, that they achieved major progress in the areas of market access and trade and investment rules in a three-day session that ended the same day.
Chief negotiators of the member nations are expected to continue the talks, with a view of holding the next ministerial meeting in Beijing in November. Depending on the outcome of the talks, they might also hold a summit meeting, although it is yet undecided.
At the same time, however, Akira Amari, minister in charge of the TPP talks, indicated at the press conference held after the ministerial meeting that negotiations could continue until next year.
At the meeting which began on Saturday, Oct. 25, the ministers discussed the controversial area of trade and investment rules, including intellectual properties, state-owned firms and environment, in parallel with the bilateral talks on market access.
While the ministers stressed in their joint statement that they made “significant progress,” Amari said that the actual progress was limited, especially in the area of trade and investment rules.
Chief negotiators are expected to remain in Sydney until Sunday, Nov. 2 to try to solve remaining hurdles in time for the next ministerial meeting, which Amari said is expected to be held next month in Beijing, when most of the ministers of the TPP member countries participate in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.
However, Amari said whether and when they will hold a summit meeting is yet undecided. It is not mentioned in the joint statement, and Australian Trade and Investment Minister Andrew Robb, who chaired the ministerial meeting, went only as far as saying that they will start considering when and where they will hold a summit in the next three or four months. They are likely to make the decision depending on how much progress they can make before the next ministerial meeting.
The TPP member nations are aiming at reaching broad agreement by the end of this year, but Amari said it is becoming difficult, considering the remaining number of days, to make the negotiations proceed to the level where everything is settled except for the administrative work.
But he also said negotiations could be accelerated once controversial areas are resolved, indicating that they have not completely given up on concluding the talks before the yearend.
Earlier in the day, Amari met with U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman for the first time in roughly a month, but the meeting lasted only for about 50 minutes. Amari told reporters after the meeting that a settlement is yet to be seen, adding that they will meet again when ministers gather in Beijing next month. The two countries will continue working-level negotiations until then to narrow the gaps.
Amari said the decisions which Japan needs to make regarding remaining bilateral issues could influence national interests or the political lifeline of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s administration. He said the bilateral negotiations are coming to a truly crucial point and the two nations are entering a stage where they must seriously clash with each other.
In addition to the controversial issues in the bilateral talks such as tariffs on beef and pork and safeguard measures, the United States has recently taken a hardline stance on rice and some dairy products. Negotiations are seesawing, as the U.S. has also been reluctant to eliminate tariffs on autos and auto parts.
Amari expressed hope for early settlement of the TPP talks, saying that bilateral negotiations with countries other than the U.S. are nearing an end.
(Oct. 28, 2014)