TOKYO -- Japan is encouraging more countries from Central and South America to join the reworked Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact, in hopes of both capturing the potential of these markets and pressuring the U.S. to return to a framework it left last year.
Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono attended the Group of 20 meeting in Buenos Aires on Sunday and Monday, where he stressed the importance of stronger free trade mechanisms. "The TPP has 'Trans-Pacific' in its name but is not limited to the Pacific Ocean," he said afterwards, calling on Central and South American countries to join.
