Ministers of the 12 countries in the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations agreed Sunday to uphold a basic rule on tariff eliminations to wrap up their three-day meeting on Bali and pursue a deal by the end of the year.
As they sought to compile work plans for advancing talks on contentious areas, the ministers held market access talks covering tariff elimination rules and intellectual property rights, among other issues, despite the existence of sensitive products in each country.
A member of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party sent to keep track of developments at the talks told reporters afterward that the situation is tough, and the LDP is now looking into the possibility of eliminating tariffs on items once considered untouchable, including rice.