<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class="">Monday, July 06, 2015</span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13px;" class=""></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 3.75pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 16.5pt; background-color: white;"><b class=""><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class="">Daily News</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 15pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 16.5pt; background-color: white;"><b class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(255, 51, 0);" class="">TPP Ministerial Set For July 28-29 In Hawaii; Cutler Headed To Tokyo</span></b></p><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 16.5pt; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" class="">Posted: July 06, 2015</span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 16.5pt; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" class="">Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade ministers are set to meet for two days beginning July 28 in Hawaii to try and hammer out a deal, following several days of meetings there between chief negotiators, according to informed sources.</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 16.5pt; background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" class=""> </span></p><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 16.5pt; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" class="">The ministerial meeting has now been confirmed, meaning it will definitely take place and is not contingent on whether chief negotiators make sufficient progress in the days leading up to it, sources said.</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 16.5pt; background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" class=""> </span></p><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 16.5pt; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" class="">While the goal of the ministerial meeting is still to conclude the negotiations, one informed source said he was still unsure whether TPP countries will be able to do so.</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 16.5pt; background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" class=""> </span></p><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 16.5pt; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" class="">This is largely because some TPP countries lack information about the status of bilateral talks between other parties, he said. This makes it difficult to assess how close parties are to concluding a deal, this source signaled.</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 16.5pt; background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" class=""> </span></p><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 16.5pt; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" class="">In a related development, the U.S. is now re-engaging in bilateral talks with Japan and Canada following the passage of fast-track legislation late last month.</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 16.5pt; background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" class=""> </span></p><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 16.5pt; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" class="">Acting Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Wendy Cutler will head to Tokyo on Tuesday (July 7) to continue talks with her Japanese counterparts on market access and automotive trade issues under TPP, according to USTR's weekly schedule. The schedule did not say how long she would stay in Tokyo.</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 16.5pt; background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" class=""> </span></p><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 16.5pt; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" class="">Meanwhile, Vice President Joe Biden on Sunday (July 5) discussed the need to quickly complete the TPP negotiations in a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper before both leaders attended the FIFA Women's World Cup championship game in Vancouver.</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 16.5pt; background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" class=""> </span></p><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 16.5pt; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" class="">“Both leaders reaffirmed the shared commitment to deepening robust trade relations and the early conclusion of negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership,” the White House said in a readout of the meeting, which also covered other issues such as the situations in the Middle East and Ukraine.</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 16.5pt; background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" class=""> </span></p><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 16.5pt; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" class="">USTR Michael Froman said on June 25 that the U.S. <a href="http://insidetrade.com/node/148617" target="_blank" style="color: purple;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 204);" class="">was still waiting</span></a> for Canada to come forward with a “meaningful offer” on dairy and poultry.</span></div></body></html>