TPP Trade Update
There are many scenarios, and things could still go wrong, but officials seem to believe that the current phase of negotiations may be completed this year, in time for the APEC summit in 2011. This may not be a signed legal text, but sufficient agreement to allow a pause and discussion with Japan, Canada and others (Korea?) about possibly joining in. This would mean that any extension negotiation would be more about market access schedules than the rules, but there maybe some limited scope to tweak these also...
The forthcoming negotiation sessions in Santiago will be important as it will reveal more about the substantive issues outstanding in this negotiation.
Email:
