Vietnam attends TPP talks in US

Vietnam joined eight other Asian-Pacific countries in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) talks in the US’s Montana state on May 19.

The talks took place on the sidelines of a meeting of trade ministers from the 21-member Asia – Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC).

The Vietnamese delegation to the talks was led by Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Cam Tu.

“The ministers discussed the progress so far after six rounds of negotiations and were pleased with the steady and solid progress to date in this highly complex negotiation,” according to a joint statement released after the talks.

The statement said, “With three negotiating rounds ahead before the APEC Leaders’ meeting in Honolulu, the ministers expressed their goal of reaching the broad outlines of an agreement by November”.

TPP negotiating partners are Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the US and Vietnam. They boast a combined GDP of US$16 trillion with a market of 472 million people.

The nine countries concluded the sixth round of negotiations in Singapore in March, agreeing upon the need to advance trade issues, including tax competitiveness and supply chain integration.

The next rounds of TPP talks will be held in Vietnam in June, in the US in September and in Peru in October. – VOV

Tags: Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement