Officials from the 12 countries involved in U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership talks will gather in Ottawa from July 3 to 12, aiming to fill gaps over outstanding issues, a Japanese negotiation source said Wednesday.
Chief negotiators for the TPP will gather in the Canadian capital starting July 5, to discuss remaining topics such as tariffs and intellectual property rights, the source said.
The 12 countries, which include Australia, Brunei, Malaysia, Mexico,New Zealand and others, initially sought to meet in Vancouver, but the venue has been changed.
Last week, U.S. President Barack Obama said Washington hopes an agreement on the initiative — which would create one of the world's largest free trade zones — will be reached in time for his trip to Asia in November.
Akira Amari, the minister who is heading the talks for Japan, has said that whether a ministerial meeting takes place depends on how much progress the chief negotiators can make at their upcoming meeting.