SINGAPORE'S Second Minister for Foreign Affairs Grace Fu said it would be difficult to pinpoint a date to conclude the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), an Asia-Pacific free trade agreement that would encompass a third of the world's economic output.

"I think that we are still working very hard towards our objective. Like all negotiations, it is always difficult to pinpoint where the end point is. So, I don't think I can tell you a specific deadline," Fu told participants of Singapore's ASEAN Journalists Visit Programme last week.

The United States has been eager to conclude three years of negotiations among the 12 countries involved by the year's end, but the TPP has met citizen opposition in several countries due to high-standard provisions intellectual property protection and the secretive negotiation process.

Brunei, Chile, Singapore and New Zealand are the founding members of the agreement while Australia, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Vietnam and the United States make up the other negotiating parties.

"(It is) not an easy process, because obviously, if you look at the TPP, it involves countries from both sides of the Pacific and countries that are of different levels of development, they have different economic structures," said Fu.

"Some of them are heavy in some industries, automobiles, some of them are heavy in their agricultural sector... To find a common solution involves a lot of hard work on the ground and I think that we have many, many rounds of negotiations."

Fu said Singapore would try to promote the goals of the TPP but at the end of the day, parties will have to "find a solution that is acceptable to all participating countries".

In Singapore's case, improving opportunities for trade and investment are crucial for growing its economy, which does not rely on manufacturing or natural resources.

The island-state maintains almost zero tariffs on most imports, making it a competitive destination for foreign investment and trade.

"We rely on trade basically to survive," Fu said. "So, having FTAs (free trade agreements) has been really one of our main objectives."

She added that Singapore is keen on influencing greater participation in the trade pact, particularly among neighbouring ASEAN countries.

"It is really to trying to bring trade into people's agenda and really to persuade and influence participation," said Fu.

"For example, the TPP, it started with four countries but it has now moved on to 12 with the participation of Japan... By having this on the agenda and talking about it, showing progress and being open to new parties joining, I think that we have been able to get more parties interested."

Source: Brunei Times

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