BLOOMBERG BNA: Australian Trade Minister Bullish on TPP Prospects

August 11, 2016 | BY: MURRAY GRIFFIN Australia’s trade minister Steve Ciobo said he remains upbeat about prospects for a 12-nation pan-Pacific trade deal and that steady progress is being made on another major regional trade deal. Ciobo, who last month met with U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman and politicians including Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) critic Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), told Bloomberg BNA during an Aug. 9 phone interview that, “based on conversations I have had, I remain cautiously optimistic” that the U.S. will ratify the regional trade deal. Ciobo said his assessment of the prospects for U.S. ratification hadn’t been dented by criticisms of the agreement made at the Republican and Democrat national conventions. To read the full article, please click here.