It Ain't Over, But... 'U.S.-Led Pacific Trade Pact (TPP) Misses 2013 Deadline For Agreement'

[WillyT]

U.S.-led Pacific trade pact (TPP) misses 2013 deadline for agreement
By Agence France-Presse-RawStory
Tuesday, December 10, 2013 8:34 EST

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Talks on forming a huge US-led Pacific free trade area will resume next month after the 12 prospective members Tuesday gave up on meeting Washington’s year-end deadline for a deal.

US Trade Representative Michael Froman and his counterparts said they made “substantial progress” after four days of talks in Singapore on the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) but failed to resolve all issues. “We have decided to continue our intensive work in the coming weeks toward such an agreement,” Froman said, reading a joint statement by the trade ministers.
“Following additional work by negotiators, we intend to meet again next month,” said the statement, which capped secretive talks denounced by activists as a US attempt to railroad a deal.

The TPP is being negotiated by Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam. They make up 40 percent of the global economy and other countries may join the pact later. The ministers had arrived in Singapore from the just-concluded World Trade Organisation talks in the Indonesian island of Bali.

President Barack Obama has hailed the TPP as a centrepiece of renewed US engagement in Asia, saying it contains market-opening commitments that go well beyond those in other free-trade accords.

The TPP talks also cover areas not included in other pacts, such as the environment and labour standards...

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More: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/12/10/us-led-pacific-trade-pact-tpp-misses-2013-deadline-for-agreement/