Officials Predict that TPP Will Conclude by the End of 2015

September 16, 2015

            The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) recently published a report laying out the progress that was made during the latest Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) meeting. The optimistic statement addressed the pact’s future and the most recent accomplishments made at the Maui, Hawaii talks in late July. The report also discussed the accord’s outstanding issues, in addition to the possibility of finalizing the agreement in the near future.

            Negotiators forged a path forward on major sticking points during the meeting. “We made significant progress [in July] toward developing a package that we expect to be acceptable to all TPP countries, pending the resolution of a limited number of outstanding issues,” the report said. Ministers were able to agree on environmental law enforcement and critical protections for goods imported into the U.S. Negotiators also created strong safeguards and rules to defend against trademark counterfeiting and copyright piracy, as well as a requirement for TPP countries to guarantee worker’s fundamental rights. These actions, along with several others, left the pact “one step closer to completion”.

            Despite the progress made, several outstanding issues still linger. Certain barriers to agricultural goods and disputes over market level access stand between the ministers and the accord’s conclusion. Automotive, rice, dairy, and sugar market access seem to be the biggest hurdles in TPP talks, leading many lawmakers to show concern. “While I applaud USTR for their work, I am concerned about a lack of progress on market access for dairy and rice along with last-minute calls for additional sugar imports that could undermine U.S. sugar policy," House Committee on Agriculture, Chairman Michael Conaway (R-TX), said in a statement. U.S. negotiators recently met with their counterparts from Japan, Canada, and Mexico to discuss automotive trade issues. Sources say that these talks made great progress and that the negotiators hope to address the other outstanding issues soon.

            TPP ministers plan to build on the energy from the most recent talks in order to deliver a deal as soon as possible. President Obama is confident that a “high-standard” and “progressive” accord will be sent to Congress by the end of 2015. TPP countries are currently considering holding their next meeting in the United States during the last week of September, which they expect to be their last.

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