KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 11, 2013): Malaysia is seeking support from other countries involved in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations to exclude tobacco from the agreement, said International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed.

HCMC – Although 19 Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiation rounds have completed, many experts said that the intellectual property issue has yet to make improvements and remains an obstacle during the TPP negotiation process.

Participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) would create favourable conditions to boost Vietnam's textile and garment sector as the third key industry of the country, according to industry insiders.

South Korea has been under final review to join the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a multilateral trade pact in the Pacific region, a local daily reported on Monday.

Tokyo, Sept. 9 (Jiji Press)--Japan would basically welcome South Korea if it decides to participate in Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade negotiations, Yasutoshi Nishimura, senior vice minister at the Cabinet Office, said Monday. 

U.S. President Barack Obama is pledging to complete a new Trans-Pacific trade agreement this year, even as roadblocks remain in forging a 12-nation pact.

Earlier September, trade delegates met in San Francisco to discuss the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement's e-commerce chapter. It's likely that this secret chapter carries provisions that whittle away at user data protetions. But we weren't able to say so at this meeting.

Initiated in 2003, The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations currently encompass 12 Asia-Pacific countries: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the U.S., and Vietnam.

Recently, controversy has erupted over the treatment of tobacco in the Trans Pacific Partnership trade negotiations. Writing in the New York Times, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg accuses the Obama administration of "caving" on tobacco.

There are high hurdles that must be cleared for the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations to end within the year, as sought by the United States.