USTR sets 2014 as goal of signing Pacific free trade deal
Kyodo News International | March 3, 2014
USTR sets 2014 as goal of signing Pacific free trade deal
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has outlined a goal of concluding the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement in 2014.
"In pursuit of job-supporting trade opportunities, the administration will work to conclude negotiations of the TPP in 2014," the office said in a document attached to President Barack Obama’s budget blueprint for fiscal 2015.
USTR Michael Froman stopped short of setting a deadline for signing the U.S.-led trade pact after he failed to reach an agreement with his counterparts from the other 11 TPP-negotiating countries in last week’s ministerial meeting in Singapore.
The 12 countries, including Japan and Australia, missed the original deadline of the end of 2013 due to disagreements over market access and intellectual property among other contentious issues.
Gaps between the United States and Japan, the two largest economies in the envisioned TPP, over market access and auto trade have been a stumbling block to progress in the negotiations.
The USTR said in the document the United States will "continue to conduct robust bilateral negotiations with Japan" to address issues related to the automotive trade, insurance and other nontariff measures.
Kyodo
