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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span style='font-size:24.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>USTR Kirk: Trans-Pacific Trade Deal Possible Next Year<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>By Tom Barkley, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'><a href="http://www.nasdaq.com/aspx/stock-market-news-story.aspx?storyid=201007142022dowjonesdjonline000616&title=ustr-kirktrans-pacific-trade-deal-possible-next-year">http://www.nasdaq.com/aspx/stock-market-news-story.aspx?storyid=201007142022dowjonesdjonline000616&title=ustr-kirktrans-pacific-trade-deal-possible-next-year</a> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk raised the prospect Wednesday that a new trade deal with Asia-Pacific countries could be completed by next November.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>Kirk said it's possible the eight-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership could be inked by the time President Barack Obama hosts the 2011 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>But achieving the goal being pushed by the business community would be " ambitious," Kirk told reporters on the sidelines of an event hosted by the APEC host committee. U.S. trade officials have previously sought to avoid setting a target for the deal.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>"We're encouraged," said Kirk, citing progress made during the second round of talks in San Francisco last month.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>Negotiators hope to start working on text of the trade deal by the next round in October. Other participants include Singapore, Chile, New Zealand, Brunei, Australia, Peru, and Vietnam.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>-By Tom Barkley, Dow Jones Newswires, 202-862-9275, <a href="mailto:tom.barkley@dowjones.com"><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#2A3749'>tom.barkley@dowjones.com</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'><br>Read more: <a href="http://www.nasdaq.com/aspx/stock-market-news-story.aspx?storyid=201007142022dowjonesdjonline000616&title=ustr-kirktrans-pacific-trade-deal-possible-next-year#ixzz0tmBCY8oo"><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#003399'>http://www.nasdaq.com/aspx/stock-market-news-story.aspx?storyid=201007142022dowjonesdjonline000616&title=ustr-kirktrans-pacific-trade-deal-possible-next-year#ixzz0tmBCY8oo</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div></body></html>