Clinton affirms commitment to trade deal

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has affirmed her government's commitment to the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership (TPP - also known as ‘P4’).

At yesterday’s Beehive press conference, Ms Clinton said that she had discussed trade “at some length” with Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully and Prime Minister John Key. She made it clear that a bilateral agreement is not a priority.

“We are very committed to the TPP and New Zealand again is playing a leading role,” Ms Clinton said.

“We're not ruling out, we're not ruling in any bilateral agreements with anybody else in the region including New Zealand, but our priority is to really focus on the TPP and see how fast we can move that towards completion.”

The TPP between Brunei, Chile, New Zealand and Singapore was signed in 2005.

Negotiations for an expanded agreement including the United States, Australia, Peru and Vietnam began in March 2010, with Malaysia joining the table during the October round of negotiations in Brunei. Canada, Japan and the Philippines have expressed interest in joining the talks.

New Zealand will host the fourth round of negotiations in Auckland in December.

Mr Key said yesterday that New Zealand will welcome all new players to the table – provided they commit to a “comprehensive and high-quality” agreement.

The big-ticket item for New Zealand would be improved access to sell dairy and meat products in the US market – a prospect that has already met with robust opposition from US farmers.

If Japan enters the TPP negotiations table, the issue may be further complicated, as Japan has historically resisted liberalisation of its agricultural markets.

Japan is the only major country in East Asia with which NZ does not have an FTA completed or under negotiation – according to a recent speech by Trade Minister Tim Groser, “not for lack of trying” by New Zealand.

Labour leader and former Trade Minister Phil Goff also met with Ms Clinton yesterday. He told reporters that the TPP was the "first focus" of their discussion and that there is a prospect for "real progress to be made”, including the inclusion of Japan.