US Wants Trans-Pacific Trade Deal by End of the Year: Official

8 October 2013

Organization meeting with a goal of reaching a deal by year-end, US Trade Representative Michael Froman said Tuesday. Issues in the US-proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) that trade ministers remained focused on include intellectual property, state-owned enterprises, labor and the environment, Froman told reporters on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit on the Indonesian island of Bali. The TPP, by seeking unprecedented access to domestic markets, is proving highly sensitive in developing countries such as Malaysia and Vietnam.—Reuters