Trans-Pacific Partnership talks to intensify as key players remain divided

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/05/20/trans-pacific-partnership-talks-to-intensify-as-key-players-remain-divided/



Asia-Pacific trade ministers said Tuesday they would intensify talks on a vast trans-Pacific free trade agreement, but offered no clue on when a final accord would be reached.

At the end of a two-day meeting in Singapore, ministers and chief negotiators of the 12 putative member economies of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) remained divided on key issues.

“We have decided on a pathway of intensified engagement over the coming weeks on market access and rules,” they said in a statement.

Chief negotiators would meet again as a group in July while ministers would continue to engage each other bilaterally, the statement said.