WASHINGTON, Oct. 8, 2013 – The White House released a statement today from the leaders of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations indicating they are on track to complete their talks.
Officials from the United States, Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, United States, and Vietnam announced “significant progress in recent months on all the legal texts and annexes on access to our respective goods, services, investment, financial services, government procurement, and temporary entry markets.”
The officials said they have agreed that negotiators should proceed to resolve all outstanding issues with the objective of completing this year a comprehensive and balanced, regional agreement that achieves goals established in Honolulu in 2011, ensures the benefits of the agreement are fully shared, and takes into account the diversity of levels of development.
The White House statement said the officials are pushing for a final TPP that reflects a common vision to establish a comprehensive, next-generation model for addressing both new and traditional trade and investment issues, supporting the creation and retention of jobs and promoting economic development in our countries.
“We see the Trans-Pacific Partnership, with its high ambition and pioneering standards for new trade disciplines, as a model for future trade agreements and a promising pathway to our APEC goal of building a free trade area of the Asia Pacific,” the officials said. “We are encouraged by the growing interest in this important negotiation and are engaging with other Asia-Pacific countries that express interest in the TPP regarding their possible future participation. “
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