No Ministerial on the Horizon, but TPP Talks Keep Momentum, Say Top Business Leaders
Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiating countries haven’t yet nailed down a date for the next TPP ministerial, and suggestions of another negotiating round in late August or September are unfounded, said Senior Vice President for Asian Affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Tami Overby, at a National Foreign Trade Council event on Aug. 7. Overby and NFTC Chairman Alan Wolf insisted, however, TPP negotiations won’t languish following the failure to lock down the final terms of a pact in Maui in late July (see 1508030024). Congress now isn’t likely to move on implementation legislation until 2016, said Wolf, who rattled off nearly a dozen unresolved areas. TPP parties continue to battle over dairy, sugar, biologics, auto rules of origin, rice, tobacco, investor-state dispute settlement application to specific industries, portions of the labor chapter, internet service provisions, state-owned enterprises, and currency, said Wolf.
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Japan and Canada both made a noticeable change in their willingness to help seal a final deal during the Maui ministerial, Wolf added. The U.S. has battled with Japan and Canada over market access for months (see 1504070006). Wolf warned both countries against expanding their market access through first-come, first-served tariff-rate quotas, saying that won't do enough to benefit U.S. industry. Canada has pledged to continue TPP talks through its upcoming election season (see 1508050036).