ID :
161637
Wed, 02/16/2011 - 20:22
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/161637
The shortlink copeid
Pacific FTA draft might be ready by March: Chile official+
SANTIAGO, Feb. 16 Kyodo -
The Chilean official chairing the fifth round of international talks on the
Trans-Pacific Partnership said Tuesday that a blueprint for the multilateral
free trade framework could be thrashed out by March.
''We think...we can complete the (draft) text,'' when the sixth round of talks
is held in Singapore in March, said Rodrigo Contreras in an interview with
Kyodo News.
This means the broad outline of the TPP may take shape before Japan joins the
multilateral talks to try to have its own demands reflected in the draft
document. The Japanese government plans to decide by June whether to enter into
the multilateral negotiations.
Contreras also said the Chilean government would not mind if Japan calls for
exemption for rice from tariff elimination in the TPP talks. Chile does not
produce much rice and any compromise on the issue is likely to meet little
resistance from the Chilean public.
Japan and Chile have already concluded a bilateral free trade agreement but
Japanese rice is protected under the accord.
In contrast, the TPP in principle is supposed to abolish trade tariffs on all
goods and the United States and other countries may oppose Japan's demand.
Contreras also said the nine countries now discussing the TPP in the Chilean
capital are certain to reach an agreement, though the process is expected to be
time-consuming because each prospective signatory is asserting its own
interests.
All countries are engaged in lively debate, raising questions about what was
discussed in the fourth round of negotiations held in New Zealand in December
when work to draft the new trade liberalization arrangement got under way, he
added.
While noting that difficulty lies ahead for some countries to sign on to the
TPP, Contreras said the negotiations will continue so that the countries can
reach agreement at the summit meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
forum in November.
The ongoing talks on the TPP began Monday and are due to last until Friday.
The TPP negotiations, which have been built around a regional free trade
agreement that took effect in 2006 among Brunei, Chile, New Zealand and
Singapore, are under way to expand the framework to include five other
Asia-Pacific countries.
==Kyodo
The Chilean official chairing the fifth round of international talks on the
Trans-Pacific Partnership said Tuesday that a blueprint for the multilateral
free trade framework could be thrashed out by March.
''We think...we can complete the (draft) text,'' when the sixth round of talks
is held in Singapore in March, said Rodrigo Contreras in an interview with
Kyodo News.
This means the broad outline of the TPP may take shape before Japan joins the
multilateral talks to try to have its own demands reflected in the draft
document. The Japanese government plans to decide by June whether to enter into
the multilateral negotiations.
Contreras also said the Chilean government would not mind if Japan calls for
exemption for rice from tariff elimination in the TPP talks. Chile does not
produce much rice and any compromise on the issue is likely to meet little
resistance from the Chilean public.
Japan and Chile have already concluded a bilateral free trade agreement but
Japanese rice is protected under the accord.
In contrast, the TPP in principle is supposed to abolish trade tariffs on all
goods and the United States and other countries may oppose Japan's demand.
Contreras also said the nine countries now discussing the TPP in the Chilean
capital are certain to reach an agreement, though the process is expected to be
time-consuming because each prospective signatory is asserting its own
interests.
All countries are engaged in lively debate, raising questions about what was
discussed in the fourth round of negotiations held in New Zealand in December
when work to draft the new trade liberalization arrangement got under way, he
added.
While noting that difficulty lies ahead for some countries to sign on to the
TPP, Contreras said the negotiations will continue so that the countries can
reach agreement at the summit meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
forum in November.
The ongoing talks on the TPP began Monday and are due to last until Friday.
The TPP negotiations, which have been built around a regional free trade
agreement that took effect in 2006 among Brunei, Chile, New Zealand and
Singapore, are under way to expand the framework to include five other
Asia-Pacific countries.
==Kyodo
