They were unable to find a common voice to resolve the issue of protection for pharmaceutical companies as well as access to agricultural markets.

Mr. Michael Froman, US trade representative, announced: "We have agreed on many issues and achieved new progress in negotiations. I am very impressed with the results of our work over the past time."

That's the statement, but currently no more positive final results have been announced.

Over the past week, negotiations have nonetheless had some success. An agreement on environmental protection has been signed. Accordingly, all 12 countries participating in TPP will have to fully implement their commitments on wildlife protection. Subsidy programs that are potentially harmful to the environment will be prohibited.

However, the stalled negotiation process is a big loss for the administration of US President Obama. Previously, observers had high expectations for this final round of negotiations. The US and Japan have almost resolved their disagreements in the auto and agricultural sectors. Last month, the US President's right to fast negotiations was approved.

Countries also agree on how to geographically label exported products. In addition, it is a set of general rules on resolving conflicts of interest for businesses' investment activities in foreign markets.

However, failure in this round of negotiations means that the US Government can only ratify it as early as 2016, the year of the US Presidential election. Republican candidates are likely to support TPP, while opinions of Democratic candidates are still divided. Presidential candidate in 2016, Hillary Rodham Clinton, refused to state her position on TPP.

The failure of this round of negotiations shows the difficulties in reaching a final conclusion, when there are so many countries with different political systems participating. Even though, some countries such as Vietnam, Malaysia, and New Zealand have made many concessions to have the opportunity to penetrate the US market.

Source: VnEconomy