US pig farmers hail progress in TPP trade talks

Washington

US pork producers on Monday hailed "significant progress" in Asia-Pacific regional trade talks and urged lawmakers to give the White House authority to fast-track trade deals, a sign that a deadlock with Japan may be softening.

An impasse between the US and Japan, the two biggest economies in the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), over exports of US farm goods and Japanese cars has held up negotiations on a wider deal for months.