“If there are countries that are … not willing to reach an agreement at the Hawaii meeting, we can’t afford to let the TPP go adrift for their sake,” Mr. Amari, Japan’s minister of state for economic and fiscal policy, told a news conference Tuesday, according to Kyodo News.
The Conservative government, which is seeking re-election this fall amid a weakening economy, risks a political backlash if it opens the door significantly wider for foreign dairy and poultry imports. Mr. Fast told The Globe and Mail last week he’s in no hurry to clinch the Pacific Rim trade deal.