Tim Groser

Wellington, June 6 NZPA - Ministers already in Japan for a meeting of APEC trade ministers used the opportunity for further talks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal and considered the idea of widening any final deal to include other countries.

The TPP negotiations started in Melbourne earlier this year. The aim is to extend the previously-negotiated P4 trade agreement between New Zealand, Brunei, Chile and Singapore to include the US, Australia, Peru and Vietnam.

Trade Minister Tim Groser ministers exchanged views ahead of the second round of TPP negotiations.

"The strategic objective is to create a platform to drive economic integration in the Asia-Pacific region", said Mr Groser.

"We are starting out with eight countries and have agreed to consider expanding this group in the future to countries that are ready and willing to meet the objectives set for the agreement. That means outcomes in all areas typically included in high-standard Free Trade Agreements (FTAs)," he said.

"This negotiation is in its early stages, and we have directed negotiators to be creative as they develop proposals. In bringing a number of countries together there are some complex questions to address, including how to link the TPP with the various FTAs that are presently in force between the eight participating countries."

At the meeting were Mr Groser, Australian Trade Minister Trade Simon Crean, Brunei's Ministry of Trade and Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary Dato Lim Jock Hoi, Chilean Vice Minister of Trade Jorge Bunster, Peruvian Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism Martin Perez, Singaporean Minister of Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang, Deputy US Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis, and Vietnamese Vice Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Cam Tu.

The second round of TPP negotiations will take place in San Francisco during the week of June 14.