Real progress in Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations has stalled until Japan and the United States reach some kind of basic trade agreement — which is still elusive even after numerous rounds of talks. The United States has been pressuring Japan to make concessions in key areas such as agriculture. It is well known that current TPP negotiations are running on two separate tracks: the plurilateral track in which all 12 countries are participating and the bilateral track which amounts to a series of bilateral deals being negotiated on the side.

Recently, on its website, the USTR has released a Summary of US objectives in the TPP negotiations

(Reuters) - South Korea will not be welcomed into a planned Pacific free-trade pact until all problems are resolved in carrying out an existing trade deal with the United States, a senior U.S. official said on Thursday. Two years after the agreement came into force, the United States was still trying to make sure promises to ease the path for U.S. exports into South Korea were fully met, the official said, pointing to problems with customs regulations and autos.

Trade ministers last week met in Singapore to discuss finer points of a potential Trans Pacific Partnership, though much work remains to be done before a final agreement is reached, the U.S. Grains Council says. Ministers from the 12 nations involved – United States, Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam – announced that they have achieved agreement on "landing zones" on nearly 20 of the 29 TPP chapters.

We, the Ministers and Heads of Delegation for Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, United States, and Vietnam, have just completed a four-day Ministerial meeting in Singapore where we made further strides toward a final agreement.

SINGAPORE, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Ministers in 12-nation Trans-Pacific trade talks said on Tuesday they had yet to reach agreement on tariffs and other market access issues, with the timing of a completed deal looking increasingly unclear. 

The TPP Ministerial Meeting is taking place in Singapore from February 22 to 25 with participation of ministers from 12 TPP countries. 

TOKYO, Feb.

Topic: "Shocking TPP disclosures"

Topic: "TPP - when come to an end?"