TPP News US-led trade talks gain complexity as Japan joins

KUALA LUMPUR, July 23 (Reuters) - Japan joined U.S.-led trade talks on Tuesday, adding its weight to a pact that covers two-fifths of
the world economy but raising further doubt over whether negotiators can prise open sensitive sectors such as farm goods and statelinked
firms.
Tokyo's entry, which takes to 12 the number of countries in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), is a key plank of Prime Minister Shinzo
Abe's plans to shake up Japan's economy and return it to growth after years of stagnation.
His "Abenomics" agenda won a further mandate on Sunday when his coalition won a strong majority in a parliamentary election.
A major goal of U.S. President Barack Obama's administration, the TPP aims to tear down barriers in areas such as government
procurement and set standards for workers' rights, environmental protection and intellectual property rights.
But it faces tough resistance in several countries, including communist Vietnam and Malaysia, where state-linked enterprises and
selective handouts of government contracts are entrenched and politically sensitive.
Japan's entry adds another layer of complexity.
"They'll come up with some agreement, but whether it will be as deep as they want it to be is another question," said Jayant Menon, a
senior economist at the Asian Development Bank.
"Malaysia and Vietnam will never agree to the rules they want on state-owned enterprises."
http://www.theedgemalaysia.com/business-ne...apan-joins.html