A TPP negotiation session.
(Photo: AFP/VNA)

(VOVworld) – Chiefs of 12 delegations to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement met in Singapore on Monday to discuss obstacles in trade liberalization and prepare for a ministerial meeting scheduled for this Saturday.

At the expert-level meeting which will last until Friday, the representatives seek ways to handle pending conflicts, including the removal of tariff barriers and the protection of intellectual property rights before they can be submitted to the ministerial meeting.

On the same day, addressing a press conference in Tokyo, Japanese Minister of Economic and Financial Policies Akira Amari said Japan and the US, the two biggest economies to join the TPP negotiations, will begin bilateral talks on Tuesday. Both Japan and the US will continue efforts to narrow differences ahead of the plenary session of ministers in Singapore.