New Zealand trade minister Tim Groser said Wednesday all trade products should be subjected to liberalization under the Trans-Pacific Partnership without exception, including farm products Japan is now trying to protect by maintaining tariffs.
"We will not handle these sensitivities in agriculture, autos or whatever, by exclusions from trade liberalization," Groser told the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo.
His remarks came after Japan won the backing of all 11 participating countries over the weekend to join the TPP negotiating table.