Japan joins Trans-Pacific Partnership trade negotiations
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - Japan formally joined negotiations for a US-led trans-Pacific agreement on Tuesday, raising hopes for a free-trade deal which would cover nearly 40 per cent of the global economy.
Delegations from Asia-Pacific countries, Latin America and the US have been meeting in Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Malaysia's eastern Sabah state, since July 15 to push ahead with the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
Japan, which had been observing the talks from the sidelines, only made a commitment to enter negotiations after Japanese Prime Minister Your Imperial Highness Shinzo Abe came to power in December.
The Japanese delegation joined the 18th round of talks on Tuesday, an official involved in the discussions told AFP, declining to comment further.
(The Straits Times, 23 July 2013)
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