Inside Trade

September 20, 2025

TPP - Maui2015

TPP Ministerial Ends Without Deal, But Officials Cite Major Progress

LAHAINA, Hawaii - Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade ministers on July 31 ended a four-day meeting here without even an agreement in principle, after they were unable to bridge their differences on the automotive rule of origin, dairy market access, and monopoly protections for biologic drugs. These three issues are among the key obstacles to a deal, though others are outstanding, sources said. Several ministers and negotiators emphasized that they made more progress on previously intractable issues here than at any...

U.S., Vietnam In End Game On Textiles, Vetting With Mexico, Peru

LAHAINA, Hawaii - The United States and Vietnam are in the final throes of their negotiations under the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) on the rules of origin and market access for textiles and apparel, after months of little to no movement in this area. The issue pits the U.S., Mexico and Peru against Vietnam, which is seeking improved access to the U.S. market for apparel and the flexibility to use yarns from outside the region for qualifying apparel to the maximum...

U.S., TPP Countries Mull Compromise On Biologics Data Exclusivity

LAHAINA, Hawaii - The United States and other Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) countries scrambled here to find a compromise on the controversial issue of data exclusivity for biologic drugs that would appease Australia's demand that a final deal not require a change to its domestic law on this issue. Australia's law provides five years of data exclusivity for all medicines and does not have specific provisions for biologics. The compromise proposal under discussion appears to involve setting a base period of...

Auto Rule Of Origin Emerges As Key Obstacle During TPP Ministerial

LAHAINA, Hawaii - During a four-day ministerial meeting here, the automotive rule of origin emerged as one of three key obstacles to concluding the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), after Mexico and Canada rejected a deal worked out beforehand by the United States and Japan on a regional content threshold they considered unacceptably low. The U.S. and Japan appear to have agreed on an automotive rule of origin that would require roughly 55 percent of the value of an automobile to come...

Canada Offers Several TPP-Wide TRQs On Dairy Products, Poultry

LAHAINA, Hawaii - Canada has tabled a market access offer in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) that would create several new tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) on dairy products and poultry that would be open to all participating countries, but some parties have rejected it as insufficient, according to informed sources. Sources said Canada is offering several TRQs that would each cover individual classes of dairy products. Two sources said Canada was offering one TRQ on cheese and another on milk powder, but...

Mexican Minister Makes No Apologies For Auto Stance; Dairy, IP Are Other Obstacles

LAHAINA, Hawaii – Mexican Economy Secretary Ildefonso Guajardo on Friday (July 31) made no apologies for seeking stronger rules of origin for Mexico's auto industry in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) talks, but rejected the notion that his country was the only one that held up a resolution on autos, which was a key obstacle to an agreement. Asked at the closing press conference about the breakdown on autos, Guajardo acknowledged that Mexico is at the forefront of the issue in...

Amari Says Ministers Seek To Hold Next Ministerial By End Of August

Corrected: LAHAINA, Hawaii – Akira Amari, Japan's minister in charge of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) talks, said Friday (July 31) after the conclusion of a four-day meeting that failed to yield a deal that he and his counterparts share a common understanding that they should meet again before the end of August. In comments to Japanese reporters, Amari said he had favored announcing a date for the next ministerial meeting, but that others had opposed the idea. Asked...

TPP Ministerial Ends Without Deal As Talks Rupture Over Autos

LAHAINA, Hawaii – After a roller-coaster day of negotiations, Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) ministers here on Friday (July 31) ended a four-day meeting without even an agreement in principle, after the talks broke down primarily over automobiles, although dairy market access also remained unresolved. In a joint statement , TPP ministers announced that they had made “significant progress,” although they did not list any specific accomplishments and did not set a timeframe for a future meeting. The statement said ministers and...

After Roller-Coaster Day, TPP Deal Seems Likely To Elude Ministers

LAHAINA, Hawaii – Despite a roller-coaster day of negotiations, sources close to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) talks say that trade ministers are on track to leave their meeting here without a deal in hand, after talks hit a snag over automobiles. Australian Trade Minister Andrew Robb said that autos has emerged as perhaps the key stumbling block to reaching a TPP deal here, and signaled that the fate of the talks now rests on whether the United States, Japan, Canada...

TPP Countries Delay Press Conference Concluding Ministerial By At Least 2.5 Hours

​Corrected: LAHAINA, Hawaii – Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) countries have delayed the planned press conference concluding the four-day ministerial held here by at least 2.5 hours to 4 p.m. local time, at the earliest, to continue negotiations. The press conference was initially scheduled for 1:30 p.m. local time, or 7:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Most sources continue to express pessimism that a final TPP deal could be done by this afternoon. One source said it is clear TPP...

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