TPP trade deal talks move forward

“There are a few countries who continue to have some important issues that they would like to be addressed”, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said when asked about the allegations that Canada is holding up the TPP.

Leaders from 11 Pacific Rim countries look unlikely to formally endorse a deal to proceed with the free-trade Trans-Pacific Partnership despite overnight progress in bridging differences on some issues.

Motegi, taking part in the Abe-Trudeau summit, said “no clear explanation” was offered as to why Canada can not support and announce the agreement at the leaders’ level.

“We have overcome the hardest part”, Vietnam’s trade minister, Tran Tuan Anh, told a news conference.

Motegi spoke to reporters in Da Nang late on Friday, after ministers held another meeting and confirmed the content of the broad agreement, which includes sections to be suspended after the U.S. withdrawal earlier this year.

“This is a disappointing development”, he said.

“That’s certainly what we’ve come away from last night with the understanding of again after such dramatic movement”, she says.

Ministers from the 11 countries are meeting in the resort of Danang in Vietnam on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.

Canadian Minister of International Trade Francois-Philippe Champagne defended the delay, saying he had refused to be rushed into an agreement on what he now called the “Comprehensive Progressive TPP”.

Trump reiterated his markedly different stance on trade before the 21-member APEC summit convened late Friday with a gala banquet. A source close to the negotiations said there were “a lot of very angry people, a lot of very pissed off leaders” at the meeting.

Ardern said it was clear there was now stabilised text, or text that the 11 countries had agreed on.

The move prompted global headlines because foreign media reports had predicted TPP partners would reach an agreement when they gathered for the APEC event in Danang. “I feel TPP-11 will have positive impacts for Viet Nam, of course as not as much as TPP 12”.

The TPP countries agreed Friday to suspend controversial provisions from the original TPP deal related to intellectual property.

Earlier, a last-minute objection by Canada had complicated the process.

Australian National University professor Donald Rothwell, speaking to The New Daily from Canada, said he believed domestic politics and aspects of the TPP relating to cultural issues had driven Canada’s position.

“Particularly when it comes to culture, when it comes to the auto sector, you’ll bet that we’ll take the time to consult with stakeholders to get the deal done”, he told reporters.

The 11 TPP countries are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

Trump said he would not enter into large trade agreements, alluding to USA involvement in the North American Free Trade Agreement and the TPP.