TOKYO -- Japan and the U.S. are inching closer to an agreement on import tariffs on U.S. agricultural products as part of the ongoing Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade talks.An agreement between the two countries is crucial as failure to strike a deal among the member countries by spring could derail the entire process. Washington has been calling for an elimination of all tariffs.   

MANILA - President Benigno S. Aquino III is keen on the Philippines joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a free trade area spearheaded by the United States.During a forum in Singapore, the President said the government is studying the benefits of joining the TPP before it makes a decision.

(Reuters) - There will be no "major announcement" on a Washington-backed Asia-Pacific free trade deal during a meeting of leaders from the region in Beijing this week, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said on Sunday.Few expected that a deal on the ambitious 12-country Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) could be reached this year, largely because of a deadlock between the pact's two biggest economies, the United States and Japan, over how widely Japan will open its doors to farm exports.

US President Barack Obama said on Monday he sees momentum building for a Washington-backed free trade agreement in the Asia-Pacific, after arriving in Beijing on the first leg of an eight-day Asia tour.U.S officials have ruled out a major announcement on the ambitious 12-country Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in Beijing, where Obama will attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum and hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

(Reuters) - China said on Friday it hoped U.S.-led Asia-Pacific free-trade talks would be transparent and China would be open to joining them, playing down controversy over competing U.S. and Chinese visions for regional trade.Ministers from 12 countries negotiating a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade pact will meet in Beijing over the weekend to discuss the deal ahead of a gathering of leaders at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.

Nov 8 (Reuters) - Japan's Economy Minister Akira Amari said on Saturday he saw progress in Asia-Pacific regional trade negotiations, although it would be difficult to reach an agreement by the end of the year, according to Jiji press. Trade ministers from the 12 nations participating in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) pact held talks on the sidelines of an annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) meeting in Beijing.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) offers an opportunity for the United States to increase trade with 11 other countries. Completing the agreement will create the largest free trade area, in terms of both goods and services, in which the United States participates.

While Japanese and U.S. officials expect little change in the U.S.-Japan relationship following Tuesday’s midterm elections, experts are divided on what a Republican-controlled Congress means for Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations and, ultimately, for reaching a deal before the 2016 presidential election.

The race is on between the United States and China to dominate the rules-setting game for trade by being the first to be able to announce plans for a free trade area in the Pacific Rim. China hopes to use its position as chair of APEC this year to propose that a feasibility study on a Free Trade Agreement for the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP), first mooted in 2006, be pursued. In other words, negotiations towards an FTAAP would commence, for all practical purposes.

Are the stars aligning for both passage of a trade promotion authority bill by Congress and approval of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement?