Roundup: Latin American countries have their voices heard at latest TPP negotiations

In the latest round of negotiations seen as being make-or-break for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), representatives from 12 countries have been meeting in Atlanta, Georgia since Monday.

While every country at the table has seen its fair share of doubters about the value of the TPP, the three Latin American countries of Mexico, Chile, and Peru have been heard somewhat less than others. Topics such as extended patent protection periods for biotech drugs and trade barriers and local content regulations for cars and auto parts were major hurdles for the three.

However, on Thursday, a sense of achievement trickled out of the meeting room. Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajuardo told the press on Thursday morning that "a lot of progress" had been made on the auto issue, "but a couple of areas are pending where we need to close."

Mexico is very keen to see trade barriers removed in the automotive sector as the country has seen a massive flow of automotive plants open in recent years as demand continues to grow north of the border.

Mexican delegates helped to sink the last round of negotiations in Hawaii in July when Japan and the U.S. suggested a 45 percent minimum local content requirement in cars for vehicles to be exported free of tariffs. The NAFTA deal mandated a minimum of 60 percent local content, a level which Mexico sees as far more acceptable.

Peruvian authorities seemed satisfied with the state of negotiations after it was announced on Thursday that the TPP would not change the mechanisms Peru has established to solve conflicts with foreign investors.

In a press release emitted by the Peruvian Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism, authorities explained that "over the last two decades, Peru has signed bilateral, regional and multilateral agreements that guarantee protection and access to resolution mechanisms for investors."

It also announced that the resolution mechanisms included in the TPP only confirm the practices Peru has put in place and that have helped major foreign investments multiply exponentially in the country. "This guarantees the efficiency of our national investment attraction policy," stated the release.

In a phone conversation on Sept. 24, Peruvian President Ollanta Humalla and U.S. President Barack Obama agreed that it was very important to rapidly finish the TPP negotiations.

Of the three Latin American delegations, Chile was the most hesitant with its trade head, Andres Rebolledo, telling the press on Thursday that "talks would go down to the wire."

Chile is particularly worried about the healthcare issue as longer patent protection periods for biotech drugs would prevent the country from rapidly having access to the latest generics.

The issue of drug patent seemed to be the main sticking point in Atlanta with Japan's Minister for Economic and Fiscal Policy, Akira Amari, expressing frustration at alleged foot-dragging by the U.S. on the matter.

The U.S. is seeking to extend drug patent protection periods to 12 years, which big pharmaceutical companies are advocating for. However, Australia, Japan, and the three Latin American countries are all pushing for periods between five and eight years.

"There were signs that the conditions were there to conclude negotiations, but you can never be sure of that. With talks, you never know until the last minute if it is possible to find a balance or not," Rebolledo told Reuters by phone. Enditem