WASHINGTON: The White House has dashed hopes of a breakthrough on US-Japan trade when President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe meet in Washington next week, further delaying a major 12-nation Pacific trade pact.

“We’re not there yet,” said Caroline Atkinson, Obama’s deputy national security adviser, on Friday.

A deal between Japan and the United States is vital to clinching a Trans-Pacific Partnership pact, as their economies account for 80 per cent of the group. Obama also sees the TPP, which would cover a third of world trade, as an important counterweight to China’s growing clout in the region.

Atkinson said substantial progress had been made in intense, high-level negotiations in Tokyo this week but more work was needed, especially on the thorny issues of autos and agriculture.

“We expect the leaders ... to have the opportunity to discuss what should be the next steps together. But we do not expect any announcement of a final deal,” she told reporters in a conference call previewing Tuesday’s White House summit.

At the same time, White House officials welcomed momentum on Capitol Hill for legislation to speed such trade deals through Congress, despite resistance from some of Obama’s fellow Democrats who worry that trade accords hurt US jobs.

So-called “fast track” authority to speed such trade deals through the US Congress is the other missing link for the TPP. Although legislation cleared congressional panels this week, it is not expected to come for a full vote until early May.

Trade ministers from the 12 countries in the proposed pact are due to meet in late May.

US Trade Representative Michael Froman said at a conference that negotiators were working to resolve sticking points so that the handful of remaining issues needing political decisions could be “teed up” for ministers.

US officials also offered brighter prospects for announcements planned on Monday by the two countries’ defence and foreign ministers unveiling of the first update of US-Japan defence cooperation guidelines since 1997.

Evan Medeiros, Obama’s top Asia adviser, said the revised rules would “significantly expand” Japan’s role in the alliance between Washington and Tokyo and provide the “mechanism for Japan to provide a wider range of support to US forces.”

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2015

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