- Title: TRADE-TPP/MORNING Pacific Rim free trade talks go down to the wire
- Date: 31st July 2015
- Summary: MAUI, HAWAII, UNITED STATES (JULY 31, 2015) (REUTERS) KAANAPALI BEACH WALK SIGN READING: "HYATT REGENCY MAUI RESORT AND SPA" WAVES CRASHING ON KAANAPALI BEACH KAANAPALI BEACH PADDLE BOARDERS ON THE OCEAN CONFERENCE TABLE WITH TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP (TPP) COUNTRY NAME TAGS WITH NATIONAL FLAGS SIGN READING: "THE TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP CONFERENCE TABLE IN EMPTY HALL AHE
- Embargoed: 15th August 2015 13:00
- Keywords:
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA2P6MDM46XTQPXV8FESLC7RNP6
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Talks on a Pacific Rim free-trade pact faced a fast-approaching deadline on Friday (July 31) as trading partners aimed to wrap up a deal within hours, with issues including trade in dairy products and monopoly periods for next-generation drugs still unresolved.
Trade ministers from the 12 nations negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which would stretch from Japan to Chile and cover 40 percent of the world economy, had a news conference scheduled for 1:30 p.m. local time (2330gmt) on the Hawaiian island of Maui.
Dairy exports are a top sticking point, with New Zealand - which has said it will not back a deal that is not good for dairy - and Australia seeking more access to Japanese, Canadian and U.S. markets.
John Wilson, chairman of the world's largest dairy exporter, New Zealand dairy cooperative Fonterra, arrived to attend the talks late on Thursday (July 30) to press home the case.
Ministers have also yet to agree on how long to protect data used to develop biologic drugs. U.S. drugmakers want 12 years, but Australia wants five. People briefed on the talks say a compromise on seven or eight years seems likely, but Mexican Trade Minister Ildefonso Guajardo stressed no deal was done. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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