By Doug Palmer
WASHINGTON, Aug 23 (Reuters) – The United States and 11
other countries in the Asia-Pacific have begun a final push to
reach a landmark trade deal this year and hope for significant
progress by an October meeting of leaders in Bali, the top U.S.
trade official said on Friday.
“It’s not surprising that at the final stage of negotiation,
as we enter the end game, (the most sensitive issues) are left
on the agenda,” U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman told
reporters on his way back from a meeting in Brunei with his
counterparts involved in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)
talks.
“But I was impressed by the dedication, the workmanlike
attitude of all the delegations and their commitment to work
through these issues in order to achieve a comprehensive,
ambitious, high-standard 21st-century agreement,” he said.
Froman left open the possibility that the agreement might
not eliminate all tariffs between the 12 countries, which
include the United States, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New
Zealand, Peru, Chile, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.
He said a Japanese offer to eliminate 85 percent of tariffs
was “a good initial step … toward a comprehensive agreement.”
Negotiators in Brunei on Friday began their 19th round of
talks on the proposed pact following the meeting between Froman
and other trade ministers.
The United States is under pressure in the talks to
eliminate import restrictions on politically sensitive products
like sugar, dairy, footwear and clothing.
In exchange, its partners would adopt new rules on digital
trade and the operations of state-owned enterprises, and bolster
protections for workers and the environment.
Froman said the ministers laid out a path for smaller group
negotiations leading up to a gathering in Bali in early October,
where President Barack Obama will meet with the heads of the
other TPP countries.
“It’ll be a good opportunity for leaders to get together and
… give direction for any remaining issues to their
negotiators,” Froman said.
TIME TO ROLL UP SLEEVES
Officials at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a leading
business group, said they welcomed the push to finish the TPP
talks after more than three years of negotiations.
But they warned that the United States should not give
ground on priorities like removing barriers to the free flow of
digital data across borders, and ensuring that state-owned
enterprises operate on a level playing field with private firms,
they said.
“We just cannot afford to take the easy way out this time,”
said Tami Overby, vice president for Asia at the business group.
“If the Asia-Pacific is going to live up to the (business)
opportunities that we have in front of us, our governments are
going to have to roll up their sleeves and do some very hard
work.”
Froman told reporters the United States had not lowered its
hopes for the pact.
But he gave few clues how much the Obama administration was
willing to dismantle 20th century protections for products like
dairy, sugar, footwear and clothing to achieve its goal of
negotiating a deal that sets trade rules for this century.
Meanwhile, the White House was facing heat this week for a
tobacco trade proposal it is making in the TPP talks.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Friday joined
public health advocates in complaining that the proposal was not
strong enough to prevent tobacco companies from using the pact
to challenge anti-smoking measures in the 12 TPP countries.
On the other side, business groups like the U.S. Chamber
and the American Farm Bureau Federation said the plan went too
far by explicitly stating that nothing in the TPP pact would bar
countries from regulating tobacco for public health reasons,
instead of relying on a more general protection for regulations
that has been used in trade agreements since 1947.
Froman said the proposal strikes “the right balance” between
trade and public health interests.
He said it makes clear that countries have the right to
regulate tobacco for public health reasons and would not
establish a precedent that could hurt exports of other U.S.
agricultural products.
(Reporting by Doug Palmer; Editing by Xavier Briand)
