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Trade ministers representing the 11 countries participating in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) held a long and very productive meeting today (April 19) in Indonesia, where they discussed Japan's entry into the TPP negotiations one day before the start of the April 20-21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, according to a spokeswoman for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. These TPP ministers will continue their discussions tomorrow (April 20) and will not issue any statements today regarding Japan, the spokeswoman added. Many observers suspect that the TPP ministers will issue a group declaration supporting Japan's entry into the talks after they meet again tomorrow, which would enable Japan to formally join the negotiations by late July (Inside U.S. Trade, April 19). Japan's minister in charge of TPP affairs, Akira Amari, is in Indonesia this week and is meeting bilaterally with those TPP countries that have not yet made a final decision to support Japan's participation. At the start of the week, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Peru had not yet completed bilateral consultations with Tokyo and had not formally offered their support. In a sign that Japan is coming closer to joining the talks, however, New Zealand announced today that it had completed its bilateral consultations with Japan and would welcome Japan's entry into the talks. That announcement came after a meeting today between Amari and New Zealand Trade Minister Tim Groser, according to a statement issued by the New Zealand government. New Zealand's consultations with Japan focused on seeking assurances that Japan is committed to achieving the ambition that has been set for TPP and could positively contribute to the momentum of the negotiations, according to the statement. New Zealand has an interest in ensuring that its primary export dairy products gain greater access to the Japanese market, which is highly protected. In the statement, Groser said his meeting with Amari was a positive discussion covering Japan's commitment to joining the existing membership to achieve a comprehensive, high-standard agreement, consistent with the statements made by TPP leaders and trade ministers in Honolulu in November 2011. Groser said he was pleased to confirm that New Zealand could support Japan's participation in TPP on this basis.
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2013/04/20 6:55