Negotiations for a multilateral Pacific Rim free trade agreement may be halted if the 12 participating countries cannot strike a broad deal before a general election in Canada in October, Japanese Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Akira Amari said Friday.
"After election campaigning starts in Canada, it will be difficult" to continue negotiations, Amari said in an interview.
"Looking at the situation from the standpoint of all 12 countries, we don't know what will be the outcome of the Canadian election," Amari said, adding the start of U.S. presidential election primaries early next year would also affect momentum for concluding a Trans-Pacific Partnership deal.