U.S. to host talks on Asia-Pacific trade deal next week

The United States will host the next round of ministerial meeting for the Asia-Pacific trade deal next week, Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced Thursday.

Trade ministers from 12 Pacific Rim countries will gather in Atlanta, the U.S. state of Georgia, to resume negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) from Sept. 30 to Oct.1, the USTR's office said in a statement, adding that TPP chief negotiators will meet on Sept. 26-29.

"Trade Ministers and negotiators last met in July and have been making good progress toward resolving the limited number of outstanding issues," the USTR's office said.

Trade experts said key obstacles remained in the areas of market access and intellectual property to reach a final TPP deal. But U.S. President Barack Obama said last week that he is confident that the Asia-Pacific trade deal can be completed this year.

The TPP, covering about 40 percent of global economy and believed to be the biggest trade agreement in the world in the past two decades, is central to the Obama administration's policy of advancing economic engagement in Asia and writing the rules for international trade and investment in the 21st century.

The Obama administration is under pressure to seal a TPP deal and get it passed in Congress as soon as possible, securing the president's trade legacy before the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign heats up.

The TPP talks involve Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam. Enditem