Economics

Trade Ministers to Meet Amid Progress Toward Pacific Deal

Negotiators from 12 Pacific nations crafting a regional free-trade pact will gather in Hawaii later this month.

People enjoy a day out on a beach as US President Barack Obama's motorcade drives past in Hanauma Bay, Hawaii, on December 31, 2013.

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Negotiators from 12 Pacific nations crafting a regional free-trade pact will meet in Hawaii later this month, with the U.S. signaling that “considerable progress” has been made toward a final deal.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership would create a market with nations from the U.S. and Mexico to Japan and Vietnam, representing about 40 percent of the world’s economic output. It’s a cornerstone of President Barack Obama’s bid to refocus U.S. foreign policy toward Asia.