The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has stated that the prospective Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade partners – Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the US, and Vietnam – made further strong headway during the recent eleventh round of negotiations in Melbourne.

Over the nine days of talks, more than 20 working groups met to discuss the legal texts of the agreement, which cover all aspects of the commercial relations between the TPP countries.

Notable progress was said to have been made across the full range of chapters, including on cross-cutting issues, such as regulatory coherence, better integration of small and medium-sized businesses into international trade, deepening of regional supply linkages between TPP countries, and promoting development.

Productive exchanges also took place on emerging trade issues such as addressing trade and investment in innovative products and services, including digital technology, and ensuring state-owned enterprises compete fairly with private companies.

In addition, the nine TPP countries discussed market access packages, including improved offers for services and government procurement. They also continued work on the high-ambition tariff packages on industrial goods, agricultural products and textiles.

To ensure continued progress toward a final agreement, the negotiating teams reviewed their roadmaps for work going forward and agreed to an inter-sessional work program for each negotiating group to build on the progress made in Melbourne. The next formal round will take place in May this year.

The USTR Ron Kirk also met recently with the Canadian Trade Minister Ed Fast to discuss Canada's interest in joining the TPP negotiations. They discussed each government's engagement with its domestic stakeholders and consultations with other TPP partners on Canada's interest, and are scheduled to meet later this month for further discussions.

It was in November 2011 that both Canada and Mexico, as members, with the US, of the North American Free Trade Agreement, expressed their interest in joining the TPP talks. However, Canada is also the US's largest export market, with exports increasing over 12% in 2011.

Source: Tax News

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