Washington, D.C. - We have spent the past several weeks working to narrow gaps with Japan. The round we just completed was focused but difficult. After more than 20 hours of negotiations, we continue to make progress, and we are now faced with a reasonable number of outstanding issues. These issues are important to both sides and considerable differences remain.
We have worked to be as creative as possible to address Japan’s political sensitivities, while pursuing the overall objective of achieving meaningful access to its market – a goal that all TPP partners share. We look to Japan to make similar efforts.
The economic and strategic importance of TPP is greater now than it has ever been. We stand stronger when we stand together – on global issues, regional issues, and economic issues.
