Nine nations give up concluding TPP talks by APEC summit

Trans-Pacific Partnership

Nine nations participating in Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade talks have given up on concluding the negotiations in time for the November APEC summit in Hawaii, several trade sources said Saturday.

Their working committee is planning to meet in Malaysia in December to continue the talks, according to the sources cited by Kyodo.

The nine include Australia, Singapore, Peru, the United States and Vietnam.

The move apparently reflects the conflicting opinions among the respective parties on how to break down trade barriers, and gives Japan more time to consider its position on joining the talks, after having fallen behind in the face of domestic opposition, particularly from the agriculture sector.

While the U.S. government had shown willingness to conclude the talks by the November summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, some observers said it would be difficult to make substantial progress in the talks until the U.S. presidential election is over next year. (Andina)