Trade officials from the 12 nations involved in Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations are in Hawaii in hopes of reaching final agreement on a free-trade pact encompassing 40 percent of world economic outlook, says Politico. “And while they could leave with a breakthrough deal, the talks could just as easily be blown up by petty and not-so-petty grievances over everything from cheese labels to auto tariffs.” Agriculture is one of the final obstacles to an agreement; Japan and Canada are reluctant to open their markets to food imports as much as the United States wants, and some nations say the United States has to offer more access on sugar.
“If talks slip into next year, election-year politics could destroy any momentum and relegate the pact to another administration,” says Politico.
Canada faces parliamentary elections in October, a year before the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The Canadians have been criticized as unwilling to negotiate on access to their dairy and poultry markets. The CBC says dairy, chicken, turkey and egg farmers generate 18 percent of farm cash receipts in Canada and account for 8 percent of Canada’s farms. Consultant Adam Taylor, a former trade official for Canada, told the CBC the government knows how to “play the long game. And they’re not afraid to blow deadlines.”