When Japanese and American trade negotiators met in Washington D.C. the week before last, their bilateral discussions mattered to many other countries. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) has grown to include 12 countries that represent some 40 percent of global GDP and about one-third of all world trade.

The lack of compromise between the United States and Japan — by far the largest economies in the negotiations — impacts the whole region.

This goes beyond specific sticking points on agriculture and automobiles. Strategy and credibility are at stake.