Japanese Envoy Endorses APEC Target For TPP, Says Another Ministerial Likely

摘要

Japanese Ambassador to the United States Kenichiro Sasae on June 30 said Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) countries should aim to conclude the talks by a November summit of Asia-Pacific leaders, but to do so they need to make significant progress at a chief negotiators' meeting kicking off this week in Canada and at a ministerial that would likely take place in the fall. Speaking at the Center for American Progress, Sasae argued to make that target, "negotiators need to get the job done around the summer." He later explained this would entail chief negotiators resolving the vast majority of outstanding issues at their July meeting in Ottawa. That would leave the most difficult issues to be addressed at a higher political level, "including ministerials," which he hinted could take place in September and October. Sasae said it is not a "realistic scenario" to expect a TPP deal to be concluded well in advance of the Nov. 4 midterm elections in the U.S. But he noted the Nov. 10-11 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit will take place afterward, and therefore provides a "new environment" in which leaders could sign off on a deal. "So my hope is that we will get this done basically as quickly as possible so that ... we could present all this final negotiated, agreed document around the time when leaders see [each other] in [the] APEC meeting, and [that's] what we need to see," Sasae said.