Japanese trade officials are rushing to clear the hurdles to a Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade pact. They are accelerating talks with individual countries ahead of a meeting of all 12 next month.

Chief negotiators for the TPP will gather in Vancouver, Canada, in July for about 10 days. Ministers from each country agreed last month to speed up talks for a final deal.

Officials from Japan and New Zealand met this week. They discussed tariffs on key agricultural products, including beef.

Japanese and US negotiators have been discussing lowering the tariffs Japan puts on imported beef to about one-fourth the current rate of 38.5 percent.

Japan will start talks with Australia on Thursday, and with the US later this month.

Source: NHK

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