U.S. Official Touts TPP Progress; Identifies IP, Canada, Malaysia As Obstacles

A U.S. trade official last week touted progress in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations in a closed-door briefing with business representatives, but identified intellectual property (IP) rules and outstanding issues with Canada and Malaysia as key obstacles to a deal, according to industry sources. In the briefing, which followed the March TPP round in Hawaii, the official said TPP countries have closed virtually all text issues except IP, although there are some other outstanding text issues that are linked to...