Pacific Trade Talks in Hawaii Said to Near End Without Deal

Negotiators from the U.S. and 11 Asia-Pacific countries are unlikely to sign off on a free-trade agreement after a four-day meeting in Hawaii, according to a person briefed on the talks.

Trade ministers hashing out the details of the Trans-Pacific Partnership had sought to wrap up a deal in principle on Friday.

They’ve been unable to resolve differences on automobile and dairy issues, the person said, requesting anonymity because the meeting hasn’t concluded.

Negotiators, who will return to their home countries instead of continuing discussions in Hawaii, all but completed work in areas such as intellectual property and state-owned companies, creating confidence that they can work out the remaining issues soon, the person said.

 Failure to conclude a deal soon would be a blow to President Barack Obama, who invested six months of lobbying this year in a successful effort to win enhanced negotiating authority from the U.S. Congress to complete the Asia-Pacific deal.

“The sad thing is, 98 percent is completed,” said Andrew Robb, Australia’s trade minister. The Asia-Pacific trade pact, covering a range of products and services, would cover 40 percent of global economic output and, Obama has argued, set standards ahead of a rising China.

U.S. Representative Sander Levin, a Michigan Democrat who attended the talks being held on the island of Maui, said expectations may have been too high given the technical disputes remaining when the meeting began on July 28.

Whey Protein

“We are working on issues that should have been dealt with long ago,” Levin said. Officials spent much of the meeting steeped in the details of trade in dairy products such as whey protein, milk powder and cheese.

Canada came under heavy pressure to open its highly protected market from countries including the U.S., Australia, and above all, New Zealand. “Dairy is key to our future prosperity,” said Mike Petersen, New Zealand’s special envoy for agricultural trade, said in an interview.

 “That’s why we fight so hard.” Top officials from the 12 countries scheduled a news conference for 10 p.m. New York time on Friday to outline the progress they’ve made, and future plans.

bloomberg.com