TPP - Sydney2014

SYDNEY -- Vietnam has indicated it is willing to accept rules in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) e-commerce chapter that would, among other things, bar governments from restricting the free flow of data over the Internet. But is also seeking an exception that would temporarily shield Hanoi from a dispute settlement case alleging a breach of some or all of these obligations, according to informed sources. Some sources said Vietnam is requesting that this "moratorium" on dispute settlement last five years;...

Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade ministers at their three-day meeting last month in Sydney failed to resolve a simmering disagreement over how a final deal should discipline agricultural export subsidies, a debate in which the United States is isolated and facing off against major opponents of export subsidies like Australia and New Zealand, according to informed sources. The fight revolves around the scope of a proposed ban on the use of export subsidies to support the sale of agricultural goods within...

Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade ministers during their Oct. 25-27 meeting in Sydney were unable to resolve their differences over the scope of proposed rules on geographical indications (GIs), which the United States, Australia and New Zealand are pushing in a bid to counter the European Union's drive to protect such food names in trade agreements with countries in the TPP region, according to informed sources. Among other things, the proposed rules in the intellectual property (IP) chapter would require TPP...

SYDNEY -- As trade officials here said there is new momentum in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations, Australian Trade Minister Andrew Robb warned there is still a risk that the talks could stall as they confront politically sensitive issues. "The biggest risk is for this thing to be stalled," Robb said, when asked in a radio interview what he viewed as the biggest risk for Australia in the TPP Oct. 25-27 ministerial. "Every [country's] got its sensitivities, as we do...

SYDNEY -- Akira Amari, Japan's minister in charge of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), this week said that the United States and Japan have made progress in their bilateral talks but that he does not see at this point in time a "clear prospect" for the two sides to reach a bilateral deal on market access. Speaking through a translator, Amari said at an Oct. 27 press conference at the end of a three-day TPP ministerial that the U.S. and Japan...

SYDNEY -- Japan has tabled new tariff offers to a number of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) countries other than the United States that provide improved access for sensitive agriculture products, and has also reported to other TPP countries that it made progress in market access talks with the U.S., according to informed sources. Mexican Economy Secretary Ildefonso Guajardo hinted at the new Japanese offers in comments to reporters after an opening plenary meeting of ministers on Oct. 25. "Japan has tabled...

SYDNEY -- On the eve of a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) ministerial here, farm groups from Australia, New Zealand and Canada again drove home the point that they want the trade deal to deliver not only deep tariff cuts on agricultural products but also provide equal market access for all participants. In an Oct. 24 joint statement, the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance, Australian National Farmers' Federation (NFF) and the Federated Farmers of New Zealand issued a plea for negotiators "to maintain...

SYDNEY -- New Zealand Trade Minister Tim Groser this week said he supports having the United States and Japan negotiate their market access commitments in secret as long as they meet two key conditions: continually updating Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) countries on their progress, and ensuring that whatever concessions they make bilaterally are extended to all other members. Speaking at an Oct. 27 press conference at the close of a three-day TPP ministerial here, Groser said he is not naive and...

SYDNEY -- Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) ministers during a three-day meeting here agreed on a set of general principles that will govern the exceptions countries will be allowed to take from rules designed to ensure governments do not provide advantages to state-owned enterprises (SOEs) that compete with private firms, according to informed sources. SOE negotiators will now use those principles to further whittle down their lists of exceptions, which will be contained in annexes to the competition chapter. The SOE working...

Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) ministers and negotiators did not discuss how a potential agreement would handle tobacco regulations during two weeks of meetings in Australia, although U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman this week acknowledged that it remains a divisive issue. Tobacco "was not an issue that was on the agenda here in Sydney," Froman said in a press conference at the end of an Oct. 25-27 ministerial meeting. He acknowledged that TPP participants differ on how to handle the issue. "There's...