<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=""><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class="">INSIDE US TRADE<o:p class=""></o:p></div><h1 style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 24pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">U.S. absent from TPP meeting in Chile; ministers to meet again at APEC<o:p class=""></o:p></h1><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class="">March 15, 2017 <o:p class=""></o:p></div><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">VINA DEL MAR, CHILE -- The United States did not attend a working breakfast meeting for Trans-Pacific Partnership countries on Wednesday, despite being invited, according to officials here.<o:p class=""></o:p></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">A <a href="https://insidetrade.com/sites/insidetrade.com/files/documents/mar2017/wto2017_0081.pdf" style="color: rgb(149, 79, 114);" class="">joint statement</a> issued after the breakfast also did not include mention of the United States, but did state that high-level representatives from the other 11 TPP countries met on the margins of the High Level Dialogue on Integration Initiatives for the Asia Pacific – and plan on meeting again on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation trade ministers meeting scheduled for May 20-21 in Vietnam. In the interim, trade officials from those countries will prepare for ministers to meet again there.<o:p class=""></o:p></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">“The high-level representatives exchanged views on their respective domestic processes regarding TPP and canvassed views on a way forward that would advance economic integration in the Asia Pacific,” the joint statement reads.<o:p class=""></o:p></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">They also “reiterated their firm commitment to collaborate in keeping markets open and to the free flow of goods, services and investment, advancing regional economic integration, and strengthening the rules-based international trading system, noting our concern with protectionism in many parts of the world,” it continues.<o:p class=""></o:p></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">But they did so without a U.S. representative in the room. Carol Perez, the U.S. ambassador to Chile, was picked to attend; congressional staffers have also been <a href="https://insidetrade.com/node/157931" style="color: rgb(149, 79, 114);" class="">meeting with foreign officials in Vina del Mar</a>. But Perez did not attend the Wednesday breakfast.<o:p class=""></o:p></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">Sources here have told <em class="">Inside U.S. Trade</em> that delegations from TPP countries, when meeting with representatives from the U.S., have lamented President Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from TPP.<o:p class=""></o:p></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">As for TPP, the officials “recalled the balanced outcomes and the strategic and economic significance” of the deal, the statement adds, “highlighting its principles and high standards as a key driver for regional economic integration and promoter of economic growth, competition, innovation and productivity, with the potential of generating jobs and lowering costs for consumers.”<o:p class=""></o:p></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">Mexico’s foreign minister Luis Videgaray on Tuesday said that standards and rules negotiated in TPP could be integrated into other bilateral and regional trade arrangements. Meanwhile, the Pacific Alliance -- a trade bloc made up of Mexico, Colombia, Chile and Peru – announced that it would accept “<a href="https://insidetrade.com/node/157935" style="color: rgb(149, 79, 114);" class="">associate members</a>” and look to identify countries that it could strike high-standard trade deals with in the short term. – <em class="">Jack Caporal</em> (<a href="mailto:jcaporal@iwpnews.com" style="color: rgb(149, 79, 114);" class="">jcaporal@iwpnews.com</a>)<o:p class=""></o:p></p><div class=""><br class=""></div></body></html>