The United States and Japan are edging into a new phase of trade negotiations following the fruitless summit between U.S. President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, people with knowledge of talks to create one of the world's biggest trade pacts said.
Talks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a 12-nation bloc that would span 40 percent of the world economy and extend from Asia to Latin America, have been deadlocked as the United States and Japan stared off over farm and auto exports.
Although Obama and Abe did not announce an end to the stalemate at Thursday's meeting in Tokyo, a joint statement issued shortly before Obama left on Friday said the two countries identified a "path forward" on key issues, a contrast to the "gaps" highlighted after previous talks.