Gap between US, Japan stalls TPP talks in Sydney

Japan and the United States failed to reach a much-awaited breakthrough over market access and other hurdles, seen as vital to advancing an ambitious trade pact among Pacific countries, trade representatives said on Monday.

The 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is central to the U.S. policy of expanding its presence in Asia and U.S. President Barack Obama has expressed hopes of concluding a deal by the end of the year.

After meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman here Monday on the margin of the plenary session, Japanese TPP Minister Akira Amari said the finish line for their bilateral talks is not yet in sight.

The United States insists that Japan should lower barriers to agricultural imports, but Japan wants to protect sensitive products, including pork, beef, dairy and sugar.

"The problems left are extremely difficult and we cannot solve them easily," Amari said.

Despite the differences confronting the two countries, trade ministers at the Sydney meeting said the talks were fruitful. In a joint statement issued after their first gathering since May, trade ministers said,"We have made significant progress" on tariffs and unified trade rules.

Australian Trade Minister Andrew Robb, who hosted the meeting, said the shape of an "ambitious, comprehensive, high-standard and balanced deal" was forming.

The TPP deal is "crystallizing," the statement said, adding that the trade representatives will "meet again in the coming weeks."

The TPP talks, which are in their fifth year, involve Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam.