"We're very much on track" in the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks, Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis told the Washington International Trade Association. "We've been making a lot of progress in each round of negotiation.
Trade ministers from the nine countries -- Australia, New Zealand, Brunei, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Chile, Peru and the United States -- set a goal of reaching the "broad outlines" of a deal by the APEC meeting next month.
Marantis told the group he still could not say when there would be a final deal, but hinted that President Barack Obama and other leaders of the nine TPP countries might set a deadline in Honolulu for finishing negotiations.
"We are going to await instructions from the TPP leaders in Honolulu," Marantis said. "One thing is very clear, we're going to have a lot of work to do after Honolulu.
The nine countries will hold another round of negotiations next week in Lima, Peru.
"Our goal is to leave the Lima round with a very clear view with where things stand in order to craft a report to the leaders" for discussion in Honolulu, Marantis said.
The United States will outline its ideas in Lima for rules on state-owned enterprises, which have been capturing an increasing share of global trade.
U.S. companies are looking for a strong agreement that ensures SOEs do not benefit from government subsidies and other favors not available to privately owned firms.
Its importance is heightened because the United States hopes the TPP will eventually cover all of APEC, which includes China where most of the big firms are owned by the state.
In another area, Marantis said the Obama administration was still consulting with Congress and other stakeholders on what it should propose in the TPP chapter on labor rights.
Some lawmakers fear Vietnam and Malaysia's participation in the pact could lead to many U.S. jobs moving abroad unless those countries have to meet high labor standards. (Reuters)
