Little progress on dairy, autos in Atlanta TPP trade talks: New Zealand official

[WELLINGTON] A New Zealand trade official said that the Trans Pacific Partnership talks had made no progress on key areas such as dairy and automobiles and that officials were waiting for trade ministers to take the negotiations forward, media reported on Wednesday.

"There's still some work to do in automobiles, biologics and IP, and around dairy obviously in New Zealand's case,"agricultural trade envoy Mike Petersen told Radio New Zealand. "We need ministers to make the hard calls on those areas, and we're hopeful they can do so over the next couple of days."

Trade ministers from the 12 countries negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership are due to meet in Atlanta on Wednesday and are on the cusp of sealing the biggest trade deal in a generation, cutting trade barriers and setting common standards for 40 per cent of the world economy.

New Zealand, the world's largest exporter of dairy, is negotiating for improved access for its dairy exports to countries such as the US, Canada and Japan.

Trade Minister Tim Groser told media last week that the deal at that time was "inadequate" for New Zealand's access to dairy markets.

REUTERS