TPP negotiations continued to make progress at the 14th negotiating round held in Leesburg, Virginia from 6 – 15 September 2012. Good progress was made in text negotiations in a number of chapters, including market access, customs, rules of origin, technical barriers to trade (TBT), sanitary and phytosanitary standards (SPS), cross-border trade in services, telecommunications, and government procurement.Negotiators from the nine parties also continued to make progress in the negotiations on market access commitments which each country is making on goods, services, investment and government procurement.
As with previous TPP negotiating rounds, stakeholders were on-site during negotiating and were invited to a number of events with negotiators, to discuss issues related to the negotiations. On 9 September a direct stakeholder engagement was held which involved more than 250 stakeholders from 93 different groups and representatives of all 9 delegations. Stakeholder and negotiators held small group meetings and also discussed matters one-one-one. A number of stakeholders also chose to give presentations on matters of concerns to them,these presentations were well attended by negotiators. Chief Negotiators also held a briefing for stakeholders to provide an update on the negotiations, and answer questions.
The TPP provides an important opportunity for Australia to be involved in shaping a significant piece of emerging regional economic architecture. A high-quality TPP agreement will strengthen economic and trade liberalisation in the Asia-Pacific.
In the margins of the APEC Leaders Meeting in Vladivostok, TPP Ministers met (6 September) to discuss progress and confirmed negotiators are on a clear path to concluding most of the chapters of the agreement. This includes a commitment to pursue a comprehensive and ambitious agreement which eliminates tariffs and other barriers to trade and investment. Ministers also endorsed a Report to TPP Leaders [PDF 99 KB], outlining the progress made in the negotiations to date.
On 9 September TPP Leaders released a statement [PDF 90 KB]and a report from TPP Ministers; Leaders confirmed their commitment to concluding a comprehensive, truly regional TPP agreement as rapidly as possible, and welcomed new members Canada and Mexico to the negotiating group. The addition of Canada and Mexico, significant economies in their own right with open and transparent settings, is an important further step towards realising an ambitious regional outcome in the TPP.