The U.S. team met on March 16 for a second day of negotiations with their Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) counterparts. The intellectual property rights, agriculture, technical barriers to trade, services and rules of origin groups concluded their initial round of discussions today and agreed on work to be completed by each delegation in advance of the next round of negotiations. The TPP negotiators also began discussions on several other issues, including telecommunications services and environment. Minister for Industry and Trade for the Australian state of Victoria, Jacinta Allan, welcomed the TPP delegates at a reception at the APEC Study Center at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University, underscoring the importance of APEC work in many areas to be covered by the TPP, on which TPP members are drawing.
Keep checking USTR.gov throughout the week for updates on the negotiations.
