“As transparent a way as possible” – US Head TPP Negotiator

Chief US Negotiator Barbara Weisel confronted charges that the TPP negotiations are not transparent during Wednesday’s TPP press conference.

“We all have done as much as we can to meet with the stakeholders and this includes not just meetings at the round, but regularly in our own capitals to try to ensure that the agreement we have achieved responds to the issues that our stakeholders are bringing to us.”

According to Weisel, these efforts to meet with stakeholders concerned with TPP and develop a two-way dialogue constituted transparency on the part of the negotiators. She said that all of the negotiators “tried to conduct the negotiations in as transparent a way as possible.”.

Without these meetings, the issues stakeholders are concerned about would not be sufficiently addressed within the agreement. Getting these issues right and finding a balance that was right for all stakeholders would be integral to achieving the deep connection negotiators are striving for. “Stakeholder’s within even our own systems are not in agreement on lots of issues though, so what we have to do before we even develop positions to come is to balance the competing interests with different stakeholders within our interests,” added Weisel.

Finding a balance for these stakeholders extended right through to the competing interests within the negotiating room. Weisel was confident however  that significant progress has been made at this round, “Since Honolulu we have developed a framework which is now being filled out to bring a conclusion to these negotiations.”