Green growth, free trade to top U.S. agenda at APEC talks

The U.S. host will push green growth and the next generation free trade agreement known as Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) at next month's APEC meeting in Hawaii, a senior official said Wednesday. In addition, the Obama administration would also focus on "regulatory cooperation and convergence" at the regional gathering, said U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk when addressing a U.S. Chamber of Commerce event. "Our objective... is to continue to seek frank resolution to problems that affect exporters within the region," Kirk said as he previewed the U.S. agenda at the APEC meetings. "We really want meaningful outcomes." The U.S. side is aggressively pushing the TPP, an Asia-Pacific regional trade agreement being negotiated among the United States and eight other partners, namely Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. "We want an agreement completed as soon as possible," said Thomas Donohue, U.S. Chamber of Commerce president and CEO. "But this must be an agreement with high standards. These standards will set the bar on regulatory coherence, investment, and intellectual property. And we want an agreement that is open to expansion to more countries that are willing to commit to these high standards."