Vietnam continues bilateral talks with TPP partners

Vietnam is actively engaging in bilateral negotiations with the US and several other countries to ensure its key interests before entering a ministerial meeting aimed at finalising the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Quoc Khanh, who is also head of the Vietnamese delegation at the TPP negotiations, said at an interview on August 14 that after the recent ministerial talks in Hawaii ended without a final agreement, the nations are on intensive discussions in preparation for the final meeting.

However, the meeting is unlikely to take place in late August as the countries need more time to bilaterally deliberate problems left from the Hawaii talks, he said.

Personally, the official held that the next talks would be held no later than September, explaining that if the meeting is organised after the time, the US would fail to present the deal to its Parliament before the Presidential Election begins in 2016.

Khanh pinned high hope on the success of the final meeting, which he said is decisive to the TPP agreement.

Regarding the outcomes of the meeting in Hawaii in late July, he said ministers reached consensus on almost all issues ranging from investment and financial services to environment and State-own enterprises.

However, the negotiations could have to be prolonged due to disputes over cars, milk and intellectual property, according to the Deputy Minister.

Garment-textile was also among other matters that hindered the negotiators from reaching a final agreement as it is a both bilateral and multilateral issue that relates to many countries, he said. Once a multilateral consensus is reached, negotiations on it are considered to be concluded, he noted.-VNA