Attending closed meetings were ministers and senior officials from 12 TPP countries bordering the Pacific Ocean, namely Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam.
Head of the Vietnamese TPP negotiation delegation Tran Quoc Khanh said commodities are an issue all sides are interested in. Only when negotiations on the issue attain considerable progress can decisions on remaining problems be made.
Also on the third day of the meeting, negotiators exchanged their opinions on principles of origin, customs and intellectual property.
A number of bilateral working sessions also took place on the fringe of the event, including that between Japan and the US . The two biggest economies in the grouping are seeking agreement on their key bilateral issues – auto duties for the US and farm goods for Japan .
Labour, environment, textiles and garments will be put on the table on February 25, the last day of the meeting./.
