The AP (10/9) reports the dozen leaders after an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Bali said a comprehensive deal could be reached on the Trans-Pacific Partnership this year. A statement by APEC leaders “said they made ‘significant progress’ in setting standards for trade in goods and services, and for investment and public procurement.”
However, Politico (10/9, Palmer) notes, the communique is mostly descriptive of the state of the discussions and does not give any “indication of what concessions individual countries are willing to make to reach a deal.” Also, it does not say an agreement “is essentially complete, as some expected ahead of the meeting.”
The New York Times (10/9, Perlez, Cochrane, Subscription Publication) reports that the APEC forum ended with “relatively little to show” and “clouded by the absence of President Obama,” but US trade representative Michael Froman urged nations there involved in the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks to complete them “by the White House’s target of the end of the year.” The White House also issued a statement announcing that “leaders of the 12 nations announced they were ‘on track’” to finish the talks. The Times notes it “would be the largest trade deal in the world.”
The Wall Street Journal (10/9, Otto, Subscription Publication) also covers the story.