The chief negotiators of the 11 remaining signatories to the Trans-Pacific Partnership met Monday in Tokyo to work on getting the free trade pact signed without the United States.
The focus of the two-day meeting is on whether members can get Canada onboard for an early signing, with Australia, Chile and Japan pushing to hold the official ceremony by March. They agreed on core elements of the pact in November in Vietnam but left some matters for further negotiation.
"We should be able to reach consensus on the time and date for the signature at the chief negotiators' level," said Toshimitsu Motegi, Japan's minister in charge of TPP negotiations, at the start of the meeting, underlining his hope that the latest round will be the final talks before the signing. "This target date is absolutely necessary to enable all the parties to start domestic procedures," Motegi said.