Twelve-nation Pacific Rim trade talks must better reflect the interests of participants other than the United States and Japan, rather than centering on their bilateral agreements, New Zealand Trade Minister Tim Groser told Japan's Nikkei business daily.

He rejected suggestions, however, that New Zealand had played a major role in scuttling a possible deal in Trans-Pacific Partnership talks last week by taking hard line on dairy market access, according to an interview published on Thursday.

Negotiators cited a clutch of lingering disputes, including auto trade between Japan and North America, New Zealand's dairy exports and monopoly periods for next-generation drugs, that ministers were unable to resolve when they met to clinch a TPP agreement.

"The central problem with this negotiation is that it is not just a bilateral negotiation between the U.S. and Japan," Groser told the Nikkei in a telephone interview conducted on Wednesday.

"There are 12 countries involved and their interests must be reflected before we have a balanced agreement."

Groser told the Nikkei that a bilateral U.S.-Japan agreement on autos did not fully take into account what Mexico and Canada want, while the pact also did not address New Zealand's interests in dairy products.

He dismissed suggestions, reported in Japanese media, that New Zealand got in the way of concluding a deal by pushing for dairy market access in exchange for concessions on drug data protection.

"That's a complete misrepresentation of the round in Hawaii," the Nikkei quoted him as saying.

"The reality is that we were never given even minimal offers on things that are of interest to New Zealand that we could accept."

He said no decisions had been made on when to hold the next round of TPP ministerial talks but he was keen to set a time quickly, the Nikkei said.

"What is really important is that we maintain momentum. If we lose momentum, we lose everything," he said.

Source: Reuters 

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