The home stretch

Jiji Press BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei (Jiji Press)—Ministers of the 12 countries involved in Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade negotiations vowed Friday to speed up the talks, aiming for a conclusion by the end of this year.

In a joint statement released after their two-day meeting in the Brunei capital of Bandar Seri Begawan, the ministers said they instructed negotiators of their respective countries to boost efforts toward successfully wrapping up the negotiations by the year-end.

The ministers “explored how to develop a mutually acceptable package, including possible landing zones on remaining sensitive and challenging issues,” the statement said.

“We discussed how best to achieve an outcome consistent with our common goal of achieving an ambitious and balanced 21st-century agreement that will enhance trade and investment among us, promote innovation, economic growth and development, and support the creation and retention of jobs in our countries,” it said.

While noting that particular areas of focus include matters related to market access dealing with tariff elimination and reductions, financial services and government procurement, the ministers stressed, “We have agreed to maintain our active engagement” in the lead-up to an October summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Bali, Indonesia, on the sidelines of which leaders from the 12 countries in the TPP negotiations are slated to hold a meeting.

“This meeting will be an important milestone as the 12 countries work intensively to conclude this landmark agreement,” they said. All of the 12 nations—Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam—are among the 21 member economies of the APEC forum.

At a joint news conference after the TPP ministerial meeting, Japanese TPP minister Akira Amari said that the meeting was a major step forward for reaching a broad TPP agreement during the APEC summit.

The home stretch