Trade ministers from 12 Pacific Rim countries said on Monday that they had made “significant progress” in advancing a regional trade agreement, but differences between Japan and the US could still frustrate efforts to wrap up a deal by the end of the year.
“At this point in time we cannot say that there is a clear prospect for the US-Japan market access negotiation to be concluded,” said Akira Amari, Japan’s economics minister, at the conclusion of three days of negotiations in Sydney.
He said considerable progress had been made during talks and he hoped both countries would be able to arrive at a mutually agreeable position following renewed negotiations.