Preliminary pact reached on TPP: minister
PRELIMINARY agreement has been reached among ministers from 11 countries participating in the negotiation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) during their meeting on the sidelines of the Apec Economic Leaders’ Week.
Speaking to Vietnam News Agency yesteday, Minister of Industry and Trade of Vietnam Tran Tuan Anh said the “TPP Ministerial Meeting:” TPP Ministerial meeting in Da Nang has initially consented to preliminary principles and contents of the TPP.”
According to the minister, essentially, all contents have been put into the final commitment package. “However, there still exist some matters that need further clarification and agreement before the signing,” Anh said.
“Heads of negotiation groups from member countries will work together for final consensus and report to leaders before signing the document,” he added.
“The leaders will discuss general contents for TPP co-operation, including the TPP Ministerial Meeting report, which features contents of the commitment package,” Anh said, referring to the meeting of leaders of the 11 TPP countries expected to take place the same day.
The free trade agreement with many stipulations covering trade and non-trade issues was officially inked on February 4, 2016, among 12 countries, namely the United States, Canada, Mexico and Peru, as well as Chile, New Zealand, Australia and Japan, along with Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam.
However, the United States later withdrew from the pact. Following the latest negotiation early this month in Japan, heads of negotiation groups said they looked forward to progress and outcome of the ongoing APEC Economic Leaders’ Week, which ends on Saturday. Many expect TPP will become a model for regional and world trade development.