U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership talks end with no deal

The United States and 11 other nations negotiating a free trade zone stretching from Chile to Japan failed to reach a final agreement at talks in Singapore, but indicated they were closing in on a landmark deal.

The U.S.-led agreement is a major part of President Barack Obama's foreign policy shift toward Asia but has been snagged by disagreements between countries on market access, especially for agricultural products, environmental protections and intellectual property.

Washington had said it hoped the trade agreement would be completed by the end of the year...

[Deborah Elms, a professor at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University] who follows the negotiations, said she expected a deal to be finalized in March. Others have predicted similar...

Negotiators are aiming to reduce tariffs on goods and services to close to zero. They are also trying to ensure that foreign companies operating in those markets have a level playing field with state-owned ones, and that their products are not counterfeited.

The block includes developing countries with large state-owned industries such as Vietnam and Malaysia as well as rich nations including the United States and Japan.

The agreement would encompass around one-third of world trade and 800 million people. Proponents say it should lead to greater economic growth...

This has been excerpted from the 10 December 2013 article by the Associate Press and is available in its entirety at: http://www.ctvnews.ca/business/u-s-led-trans-pacific-partnership-talks-end-with-no-deal-1.1582612.