Kerry: good progress made on Pacific trade deal despite talks failure

By David Brunnstrom
SINGAPORE, Aug 4 Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John
Kerry said on Tuesday "good progress" was made towards a
12-nation Trans-Pacific trade deal last week, even though
negotiators failed to reach an accord in marathon talks in
Hawaii.
"As with any complex negotiation ... there remain details to
be hashed out," Kerry said in a speech during a stop in
Singapore on his way to meetings of the 10 nation Association of
South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Malaysia on Wednesday.
"Last week in Hawaii, we made good progress in our
negotiations," he said adding that countries negotiating the
12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) were "pressing on to
work through tough negotiations on even the most sensitive
issues."
On Friday, Pacific Rim trade ministers failed to clinch a
deal on the TPP - the key economic arm of President Barack
Obama's rebalance to Asia in the face of China's growing
influence in the region. ID:nL1N10B2Q4
The talks on the TPP, which would free up trade in an area
covering 40 percent of the world's economy, stalled after a
dispute flared up over auto trade between Japan and North
America, New Zealand dug in over dairy trade and no agreement
was reached on monopoly periods for next-generation drugs.
Singapore and three other ASEAN countries - Brunei, Malaysia
and Vietnam - are part of the TPP negotiations.
Even though the Hawaii talks were billed as the last chance
to get a deal in time to pass the U.S. Congress this year before
2016 presidential elections muddy the waters, trade ministers
remained confident that an agreement was within reach.
Kerry said the trade talks were "nearing completion" and
called the TPP "a tangible means of demonstrating America's firm
and enduring commitment to the security and prosperity of the
Asia-Pacific."
The TPP seeks to meld bilateral questions of market access
for exports with one-size-fits-all standards on issues ranging
from workers' rights to environmental protection and dispute
settlement between governments and foreign investors.
The White House said on Monday U.S. negotiators were
working to find common ground with other countries, but also the
best deal for Americans, and any deal would have to meet Obama's
criteria. ID:nL1N10E1J2
Japan and the United States had largely agreed on the rules
of origin for cars, which determine when a product is designated
as coming from within the free trade zone and therefore not
subject to duties. But they ran into problems trying to get
buy-in from Canada and Mexico, which are closely tied in to the
U.S. auto industry.
Japanese automakers source many car parts from Thailand,
another ASEAN member but not a TPP participant, and strict rules
would upset existing supply chains.