TPP trade talks make headway on car parts hurdle

Atlanta

NEGOTIATORS trying to clinch a Pacific Rim free trade deal made headway on Wednesday over how to remove a stumbling block and give carmakers a freer hand to sell cars in the United States with more parts purchased in Asia.

People briefed on the closed-door talks said that Canada and Mexico signalled a willingness to open the North American car market to more parts made in Asia, one of the key hurdles to sealing a broader deal on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

The TPP seeks to cut trade barriers and set common standards among a dozen nations reaching from Japan to Chile, but talks have become snared over a small set of issues, including dairy trade and patent pe…