The 15th round of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations was held in Auckland, New Zealand from 3 – 12 December 2012. Negotiators made good progress in Auckland with the hope of concluding negotiations by the end of 2013. The nine original Parties welcomed Canada and Mexico to the negotiations for the first time.

Significant progress was made on Telecommunications, Government Procurement, Labour, Technical Barriers to Trade and Customs. There was also good progress on resolving technical issues and developing pathways to address the more complex and sensitive areas, including Intellectual Property, Environment and Investment. Negotiators continued to develop the goods and services market access packages to eliminate tariffs and other barriers to trade in order to meet the high level of ambition set out by TPP Leaders and Ministers, most recently at the APEC Meeting in Vladivostok in September 2012.

Almost 300 registered stakeholders, including more than 40 from Australian businesses and civil society groups, participated in the round. The stakeholder forum on 6 December provided an opportunity for a wide range of stakeholders to make formal presentations and meet directly with negotiators to discuss specific issues. Australian negotiators also met with interested stakeholders in the margins of the round, complementing the ongoing opportunities for stakeholders to provide input to the government on issues under discussion in the TPP.

The next round of TPP negotiations will take place in Singapore on 4 – 13 March 2013. Further details will be provided on the DFAT website when available.