japan takes part in the tpp talks later this month. the nations involved plan to reach an agreement by the end of the year. >> now, just because japanese negotiators are joining the tpp discussions, it doesn't mean everyone in this country supports the free trade deal. our keiko aso looks at opinions. >> this company produces precision parts for automobiles including fuel injection devices. it's number one foreign market is the united states. the president says the tpp could help increase abroad where demand for vehicles is expected to grow. >> translator: we have to watch not just the domestic market with a population of 120 million, but the global market of 7 billion. >> reporter: he says tearing down barriers will help his company better compete against rivals in europe and south korea. >> translator: our technical abilities and the quality of our products are very high. we can beat the competition if we can offer goods with better prices. >> reporter: many sent overseas from japan are subject to tariffs. for example, automotive pro

on the tpp i'm interested in this. i know it's going to get the economy back on track we got to go after the global market. there's no question about that. we've all been talking about our districts and how important the ability to sell things all over the world is to each of our districts individually. but the tpp though, you've got a heavy, heavy low there. and i'm wondering, we talk about this in the sense of urgency but i would just say that sooner of course is better than later. and as you see us approaching that, the challenges that you're going to have trying to get there, and i wonder because geopolitically right now i don't think there's a more important trade policy we can get them in that part of the world. a special with the influence of china and all the rest of the members they are talking to, nations that are talking to you. the biggest challenge that you see. and then on top of that what could we do to help you here? isn't anything to do -- i don't know how you can get it done as quickly as you want to

my question is about tpp. the tpp is meant to be a living agreement that could eventually be the basis for free trade areas for the asia-pacific. such a free trade area with further integrate the united states into the supply chain across the asia-pacific region, benefiting our exports and increasing our competitiveness. i understand that now the focus is properly on competing at high standard and ambitious tpp agreement. however, we need to lay the groundwork so the pacific rim countries from latin america through asia meet the high standards will eventually join and increase the valley of the tpp. what is the ustr strategy for ensuring that this can happen? >> well, thank you, and as you said, our focus right now is trying to compete -- complete disagreement this year with the 12 countries that will be part of it, but it's a platform to which other countries could ultimately deceived if they so wish. we avert expression of interest, formal and informal, from a number of other countries who are following tpp'

, and we believe we have structured an engagement with them through tpp and in parallel to tpp that canachieve that objective. >> as a follow up to that, i've heard a lot from various stakeholders and members of congress about japan's currency practices, and their past practices raise serious concerns particularly its uncoordinated interventions in 2011. treasury is concerned about those interventions in its semiannual currency report. and i've raised this issue before. are you considering including provisions on currency in the tpp? and what would those provisions look like and what factors should be taken into account in determining the u.s. position with regard to those? >> well, mr. chairman, we share the concerns about currency. clearly, obviously, treasury has the lead on these issues. but these issues have been very much at the top of our agenda in engagement with countries of concern; china for longstanding, there's been a longstanding dialogue with china about its currency policy and whether it's through the g7 in the case of japan or the g20, the imf, elsewhere with regard to

japan's a late entry in tpp negotiations. hate to see us go down the road of allowing them to unilaterally try to exclude certain products from negotiations and i'm sure we'll enjoy your support on that as we move forward as well. but, there's a lot that has to be addressed and as you know already it's going to be important not only to keep this committee but other members in the congress informed as far as the state of negotiations especially the large new class that has joined the congress recently. two have never been through a trade debate or a trade discussion to try to get them information as well but i would be interested in your perspective on russia and where they are right now with their new-found wto obligations? >> thank you very much and we agree that it's very important to stay focused on insuring that russia implements the commitments it made when it asseeded to the wto and there was four or five areas that we asked them to take action on. they have taken action on a couple of them but a couple of them still re

my question is about the tpp. the tpp is meant to be a living agreement that could eventually be the basis for a free trade area for the asia-pacific. such a free trade area would further integrate the united states into the supply chains that cross the asian-pacific region. benefiting our exports and increasing our competitiveness. i understand that now the focus is properly on competing in a high standard and ambitious tpp agreement, however we need to lay the groundwork so that the pacific rim countries from latin america through asia that meet the high standards will eventually join and increase the value of tpp. what is the u.s. -- ustr strategy for insuring this can happen? >> well, thank you. and as you said our focus right now is trying to complete this agreement this year with the 12 countries that will be part of it but we've always envisioned it as a living agreement, as a platform to which other countries could ultimately asseed if they wish and which heard expressions of interest, formal and informal,

is to try to engage china, china to come into the tpp ultimately. so if the abe administration, because of backbench resistance, resistance from rank and file, fails to enter the tpp, this will not be damaging just to japan's economic reform prospects, but also to its security prospects. >>> southeast asian media say abe's victory will help strengthen economic ties between japan and asean countries. a thai tv station said the election result reflects voter expectations that the prime minister's administration will revive the country's economy. the broadcaster said the result will help deepen economic ties between japan and thailand. about 4,000 japanese companies operate in the country. >>> the "vietnamese daily" said the result will help abe focus on steering japan towards economic recovery, thereby benefitting its neighbors. japanese economic aid and private sector founding account for the largest part of vietnam's foreign economic investment. vietnam was the first country abe visited after taking office last september. vietnam talked with the pri

the tpp is a lot like dracula, does not do well in the light.s something in there to really make people really irritated. i mean, hell there is a ban on buy america procurement in there. if it is dragged into the sunshine for debate we're not going to end up with the same agreement. >> david: so let me ask you very quickly one last question, which is the question i don't have a great answer to. a lot of us can remember back when nafta created a huge uproar in seattle, and no it seems like there hasn't been the kind of activism around corporate written trade agreements. what is the explanation for that? >> i would say two things. one thing is that the proponents of the trade agreement learned the lesson when the public finds out. so they are pushing to keep it secret so there is no debate. when people find out, they get mad. bush hardly a paradigm of transparency released the last big trade agreement that was called the free trade of americas, and he put it on the website in 2001. a bunch of people looked at it and said that doesn't look so good

japan is a late coming to the tpp negotiations. it's hoping to get a better understanding of what's add stake and make sure that it's opinions are properly reflected. negotiators from the current 11 participating countries will begin the 18th round of talks in malaysia on monday. japanese officials are expected to join the talks from july 23rd after the u.s. congress approves japan's participation. the negotiating members have been holding 24 working level meetings covering 21 fields. japan is expected to take part in seven of the meetings, including chief negotiator talks on intellectual property and investment. the date on market access rolls is expected to finish before japan joins the talks. but the japanese team plans to explain its position at the special session that will be held so that the country can catch up on the current topics. the tpp participants are reportedly aiming to conclude the talks this year. >>> up next, the world weather forecast. >>> before we go, an all japanese saying describes saki as being the best me

the latest round of talks for the transpacific partnership or tpp is under way in malaysia. japan will be allowed to join the discussions toward the end of the 11-day meeting. delegates from the u.s., australia, new zealand, singapore and seven other countries have gathered in the city of kota kinabalu. the negotiations will focus on 21 trade sectors. >> it's a huge benefit to all tpp members. japan's very important country in the region. >> participants say they have almost concluded discussions in some areas including electronic communications. but they say conflicting interests are slowing progress on tariff elimination, intellectual property and the environment. some delegates have a message for japan and other participants. >> don't hold up the conclusions japan is now part of it, so nobody can be holding it up. >> japanese delegates are planning to work to maintain tariffs on some farm products to safeguard their agricultural industry. the major exporters such as australia are expected to demand the removal of protections on rice and beef. the japanese want to eliminat

. >> the tpp talks are taking place in a resort town in malaysia. they began last week and will continue until thursday. delegates have set up 13 working level meetings for this latest round of talks. japan will likely join six of them. one of the meetings will focus on intellectual property. another will be on government procurement and will go over conditions for entry into public works projects. japanese delegates will also attend a special session to catch up on current topics. the aim of the tpp agreement is the elimination of tariffs on all products within a decade. rules will govern trade in 21 areas. the total population of the participating countries including japan is around 770 million. their combined gdp accounts for about 40% of global production. delegates from some member countries reacted to japan's entry into the talks. >> i'm very happy. >> a vietnamese delegate expressed understanding over japan's position to keep agricultural products such as rice and wheat off the tariff elimination list. >> each country should have the attitude

the tpp talks have galvanized producers. and he heard rival companies were approaching his partners. >> translator: many beef suppliers have been coming from japan. >> reporter: they try to persuade the retailer to stay with them. his company has come up with a new strategy to try to keep their edge over rival producers. they're looking at middle income earners as a potential new market. so they went to a japanese restaurant in singapore and did some research. >> translator: many customers ask us just to sear the meat. it's becoming trendy to order beef rare. >> reporter: he came up with an idea to promote a cut cold round, a leaner and much cheaper steak. less than half a price of filet. yamakawa said he was sure customers would enjoy the more frugal cut. he asked the restaurant to gentry sear the round. it's a still known in japan. customers gave it a thumbs up. >> i think it's really tender. it kind of melts in your mouth. the beef is my favorite meat. >> translator: if we upgrade our transport, introducing stricter tempe

tpp is really discussed in the context of free trade, improving economy and structural reforms. but it has a lot to do with security architecture in the region. by creating a network camp of free market liberal democracies through ttp, i think the intentions of the u.s. is to try to engage china, china to come into the ttp ultimately. so if the administration because of back bench resistance, resistance from rank and file fails to enter the tpp, this will not be damaging just to japan's economic reform prospects, but also to its security prospects. >>> southeast asian media say abe will help strengthen ties between japan and asean countries. thai tv says election results will help deepen economic ties between japan and thailand. about 4,000 japanese companies operate in the country. >>> the vietnamese daily said the result will help abe focus on steering japan towards economic recovery, thereby benefitting its neighbors. japanese economic aid and private sector founding account for the largest part of vietnam's foreign economic investment. vietnam talked with the prime minister

. >>> the tpp is the transpacific partnership involving 12 pacific rim countries. rally was held at a chevron station because they say chevron is one of 400 corporations that will be affected by the trade agreement. protesters say tpp will be bad for jobs and the environment and will increase the controversial practice of fracking. oil prices fell to a two week low today on reports of u.s. jobs. >> benchmark oil for september delivery finished at $103 a barrel on the u.s. mercantile exchange. oil prices have gotten a boost from low interest rates which may start coming to an end later this year. >>> this is day 23 of the california prison hunger strike. tonight strike supporters gathered in oakland to demand an end to prolonged solitary confinement. officials say 525 inmates remain on that hunger strike. health officials say four inmates have lost more than 15% of their body weight. 12 have lost more than 10%. others are feeling weakness, disorientation and dehydration. >>> an inmate is suing the prison when he was abandoned in a cell for four days without food. ch

. >>> the tpp is the transpacific partnership involving 12 pacific rim countries. the rally was held at a chevron station because they say chevron is one of 400 corporations that will be affected by the trade agreement. protesters say tpp will be bad for jobs and the environment and will increase the controversial practice of fracking. oil prices fell to a two week low today on reports of u.s. jobs. >> benchmark oil for september delivery finished at $103 a barrel on the u.s. mercantile exchange. oil prices have gotten a boost from low interest rates which may start coming to an end later this year. >>> this is day 23 of the california prison hunger strike. tonight strike supporters gathered in oakland to demand an end to prolonged solitary confinement. officials say 525 inmates remain on that hunger strike. health officials say four inmates have lost more than 15% of their body weight. 12 have lost more than 10%. others are feeling weakness, disorientation and dehydration. >>> an inmate is suing the prison when he was abandoned in a cell for four days without food

@tpp&ifornia law requires all hands freeq devices for drivers. >>> chp officers are keeping an eye on killed by a car. it happened around 6:30 this morning on interat a time 280. the driver was not e1hurt. cougar suffered some ñrdamage. they are worried someonee1 maye steal the body to use it as a trophy. >>> more deathsxd are being reported following that 6.6çóq magnitude earthquake in china. it hit western china last night. it's followed by a series of smaller quakes overnight. this morning the localt( government is reportinge1 75 people are dead and that leaves 459 others injured. theok chinese red cross says it shipping reliefoklp supplies to area but rescue efforts are being slowed by mudslides and toppledÑiñr power lines. >>> coast guard officialsçói] s crew was patrolling yesterday afternoon whent( it camei] ñrac the330-foot boat. it has no markings or no flag. board the captain refused and pulled up the ship's anchor and took off. the coast guard followed it and approached again near ocean >> they did not do that. they kept their guns down. >> the coast guard says there was an

. >> reporter: the tpp talks are taking place in a resort town in malaysia. they began last week and will continue until thursday. delegates have set up 13 working level meetings for this latest round of talks. japan will likely join six of them. one of the meetings will focus on intellectual property. another on government procurement and will go over conditions for entry into public works projects. japanese delegates will attend a special session to catch up on current projects. the aim is the elimination of tariffs on all projects within a decade. the rules would govern trade within 20 areas. the total participation including japan is about $770 million. it accounts for 40% of global production. >>> members of tokyo's olympic committee are doing everything they can to win the 2020 summer olympics and pair olympics. they are asking people from the tourism and transport industry for help. groups from tokyo, istanbul and madrid are competing to host the games. members of the international olympic committee will announce the winner in september. about 250 peop

state-owned oil company tpp chemical detected the leak when a ship offshore was being transferred to the pipeline on saturday. an official says about 300 workers were hurrying to remove the oil. navy vessels have joined the cleanup operation. they say that oil spill management experts have arrived from singapore. about 5,000 liters still need to be cleared. in 2009, a ptt affiliate company was involved in australia's worst off shore drilling accident spilling thousands of gallons of crude oil into the timor sea. >>> 130 people in taiwan have reported skin problems after using skin whitening products made by japan's kanebo cosmetics. kanebo has been recalling its skin whitener since early this month. the complaints came from commerce who said they developed white blotches after using the firm's products. a sales agent reports that customers are now receiving medical treatment. the agent says it has recalled about 60,000 of the products but several tens of thousands haven't yet been returned. it's calling on customers to stop using the products. >> translator: consumers in taiwan have

japan joined the tpp talks for the first time this week. its delegates failed to confirm how far the other nations intend to free up their markets. this is because such discussions have been under way behind the scenes on a bilateral basis. japan's main governing liberal democratic party already decided to exempt five farming products from tariff elimination including rice and wheat but japan's attempt to maintain tariffs on many items is expected to trigger strong opposition from other participating countries, including the united states. >>> more headlines for you in business next hour. i'll leave you with a check on markets. >>> japan's foreign minister is going down the path many of its counterparts has gone before. >> reporter: the agenda included regional infrastructure projects proposed by japan. the initiative is known as the corridor for peace and prosperity. kishida visited one of the projects and a cultural complex in the west bank, now under construction. operations in some facilities are expected to begin next spring. processed

the transpacific partnership countries are still working out the tpp trade deal. they are australia, canada, chile, japan, malaysia, mexico, new zealand, peru, singapore, the united states and vietnam. question, is vietnam vital to president obama's asia pivot? pat buchanan? >> well it, is part of it, but the united states' economy is 100 times as large as vietnam. they want our investment capital. they want access to the largest market in the world. we get access to this little teeny one. most important they want the united states to come in and in effect be on their side in the great conflict for the south china sea with the parasol and sprattly islands are both claimed by china and there's a real possibility of a territorial conflict in the south china sea between vietnam and china and they want to draw us into a potential conflict there and it is in our interest to stay out of that particular conflict. >> is that true? maybe it's in our interest to join hands with vietnam in some kind of retention wall against china. >> well, vietnam is terrified of what china

but not only is this ambitious, this tpp effort of ours, we believe it is also doable.and we're working hard to get this done this year. out to the emerging economies of southeast asia -- partnering with lower mekong countries to improve food security, connectivity, water and health, encouraging responsible investments and reforms in burma, and last fall, the president launched a new initiative for enhanced economic engagement with the asean. we are addressing the challenges in our economic relationships with china as well. they are not at all inconsistent. we do not view our relationship and future relations with china in terms of conflict or the talk of inevitable conflict. we view it in terms of a healthy mix of competition and cooperation. a competition that we welcome. it's stamped into our dna. we like to compete. competition is good for both of us, as long as the game is fair. it is clear that the chinese understand that to reverse their declining growth, there are internal reforms they need to make -- not reforms we're suggesting they have to make. they've made

but not only is this ambitious, this tpp effort of ours. we believe it is do able.and we're working hard to get this done this year. at the same time, we're reaching out to emerging economies in southeast asia. partnering with lower countries -- to improve food security, connectivity, water and health. encouraging responsible investment and reform of burma. last fall they enhanced new economic engagement. we are dreationz the challenges in our economic roip -- relationship to china as well. they are not at all inconsistent. we go not view our relationship and future relationship with china in term of conflict or the talk of inevitable conflict. we view it in term of a healthy mix of competition and cooperation. but competition that we welcome. it's stamped in to our dna. we like to compete. competition is good for both of us. as long as the game is fair. it's clear that the chinese understand that to reverse their declining the internal reform they need to make not reforms we're suggesting they have to make. they made their own judgment. judgment if they follow thro

so i think if you reach the end of this year and, you know, they're making no progress on tpp, some of the other structural areas, then i think people will fairly quickly come to the conclusion that sure, it's a cyclical rebound that's a nice, solid cyclical rebound. once that fades, maybe there's nothing else behind it. i must admit, i'm quite skeptical about it as well. okay, i think the threat from china has probably focused their attention more than it has in the past 10, 20 years. but overcoming these vested interests domestically i think is going to be very difficult, and i'm not convinced that abe really is committed enough to take that fight. >> okay. richard, good to see you. thanks. joining us from the bank of singapore. just to remind you, coming up on today's show, as egypt's president fends off violent protests, we'll speak to the chairman of the company's biggest private bank and what the unrest means for investor confidence. that will be from cairo in less than 30 minutes. >>> we'll also be in subsaharan africa. we'll have analysis from chatham house. >>> india's currenc

. >> it's a huge benefit to all tpp members. japan is very important country in the region. >> participants said they almost concluded discussions in some areas, including electronic communications. but conflicting interests are slowing progress on tariff, intellectual property and the environment. some delegates have a message for japan and other participants. >> don't hold up the conclusions of the negotiation. for anybody, for everybody, it's just that japan is now part of it, so nobody should be holding it up. >> japan delegates are planning to work to maintain tariffs on some farm products to safeguard their agriculture industry. the japanese want to eliminate tariffs on manufactured products. they may encounter strong opposition from the united states. negotiators want to conclude the tpp talks by the end of the year. >> chinese authorities say top government and communist party leaders deliberately engineered the country's economic slow down. new statistics show growth in the world's second largest economy has slowed for

and i think that's likely to be the most productive way of moving forward on tpp as well. >> you are not saying you couldn't do without it. during the time i've been on this committee i think most of the trade legislation has been approved without fast-track authority. but you would view it as essential to your work? or are you saying you can do without it? >> i think again, between trade agreement and trade legislation, with the exception of the jordanians, all others have been approved under some form of fast-track authority. i haven't thought through what would mean to try to proceed without that kind of authority but i'm happy to work with the committee and, oco