Trans-Pacific Partnership Is Taking Shape, Mexican Economy Minister Guajardo Says Juan Montes - WSJ.com
go to original July 6, 2015

Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal at a news conference in Brussels in May. (Stephanie Lecocq/European Pressphoto Agency)

Mexico is confident that an agreement on a major free-trade pact spanning the Pacific Ocean can be reached in late July in what would be a milestone with the potential to reshape economic ties between Asia and the Americas, a top government official said Monday.

“Around 10% of issues are still to be agreed, but I hope we can seal an agreement in a final round of negotiations at the end of the month,” Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said in an interview. He said leaders could sign an agreement before the end of the year.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership would lower trade barriers and set new standards for business investment among 12 countries of the Pacific rim, including the U.S., Japan, Canada, Australia, Mexico, Chile and Singapore.

The group would have combined economic output of about $28 trillion, or around 39% of global gross domestic product. Some experts consider the partnership to be the most ambitious trade deal since the North American Free Trade Agreement was signed in 1993, linking the U.S., Canada and Mexico in a free-trade zone.

One of the main outstanding issues is the exact terms for intellectual-property protection, Mr. Guajardo said, as the U.S. has been pushing for stronger copyright protections and broader protection for patents.

Final details on access to several politically sensitive markets such as the U.S. and Japanese agricultural sectors and on some investment agreements among participants have also yet to be resolved, he added.

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The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) could cost us our internet freedom, labor rights, access to affordable medicine, the safety of our food, and protections that keep our water and air clean. (ExposeTheTPP)

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