TPP countries agree to Japan’s participation in trade negotiations

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SINGAPORE: Trade Ministers of the 11 Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) countries have agreed by consensus to Japan’s participation in the negotiations.

They will finalise with Japan, the process for entry in a manner that allows the talks to continue expeditiously toward conclusion, as was done with other members that joined the negotiations in progress.

The Ministers also confirmed that each TPP member had concluded bilateral consultations with Japan on its interest in joining the TPP.

The ministers met on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) meeting of Ministers Responsible for Trade in Surabaya, to chart the path forward on remaining issues, to enable them to conclude the negotiations on a 2013 timeframe as instructed by TPP Leaders.

They also discussed the status of their discussions with Japan on its interest in joining the TPP, said a joint statement by the members comprising Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the US and Vietnam.

The countries are negotiating what would be the world’s largest regional free trade agreement.

As the negotiating teams prepare for the next round in Lima, Peru, set for May 15 to 24, the ministers agreed on the next steps to advance the TPP talks in a range of areas.

They directed negotiators to complete their work on some chapters and to accelerate progress on more challenging issues that remain, including intellectual property, competition/state-owned enterprises, and environment, as well as on market access packages for goods, services/investment, and government procurement.

The ministers are committed to intensifying their own engagement over the coming months to work out solutions to outstanding sensitive issues, and achieve the TPP leaders’ objective of a high-quality, ambitious, and comprehensive agreement this year. — Bernama