Tran Quoc Khanh, head of the Vietnamese TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) negotiation delegation, who has just returned to Hanoi after the negotiation in Atlanta ended, talked with VietNamNet about the TPP milestones at the Noi Bai International Airport.

Reporter: We heard on October 5 that TPP negotiations were still very tough. But TPP agreement was clinched in Atlanta after marathon talks. What made TPP members reach a consensus at the last minute?

Khanh: We met this time in Atlanta to deal with the problems left after the TPP ministers’ July meeting in Hawaii.

The Hawaii meeting could not settle the problems, because they were all very complicated ones. These included the issues relating to the rules of origin for automobile products and the intellectual property protection for pharmaceuticals. Besides, there were also divisive issues in the market opening for textile & garment, footwear and milk products.

The Atlanta meeting focused on handling with existing problems. At first, the meeting was scheduled to last three days. However, on October 2, there was information that Mexico, Japan and the US could reach an agreement on automobile products. Therefore, we decided that the meeting would last two more days.

On October 3, we received the news that the countries reached a consensus on automobiles. We then understood that TPP was very near and no one wanted to leave Atlanta without TPP.

On October 4, TPP members reached consensus on pharmaceutical patents. ministers all decided to continue the negotiations and tried to finish the talks on market opening.

On the last night, we finished the negotiations on textiles and garments with the US and Mexico. Later, at 3:30 am, we finished the negotiations with the US on intellectual property. At 4:30 am Atlanta time, the final bilateral talks between the US and Japan ended, and TPP negotiations wrapped up.

Reporter: TPP sets very high requirements, while Vietnam is the poorest country among 12 TPP members. Will we meet many disadvantages in TPP?

Khanh: No problem. This is not the first time Vietnam has taken part in international economic integration. We began this 20 years ago, when we joined Asean. Later, in 2000, Vietnam signed the bilateral trade agreement with the US. In 2006, we joined WTO, and now we have signed TPP. We are confident about integrating more deeply into the world.

Reporter: Some analysts noted that Vietnamese businesses remain vague about economic integration, and that TPP is a ‘secret agreement’. How will we handle the problem?

The details about negotiations could not be made public under the agreement among TPP countries. However, during the negotiations, we usually consulted business associations and involved parties, including the National Assembly’s committees.

Therefore, we can say that the negotiation results reflect Vietnamese businesses’ willingness.

Our task in the time to come is quickly checking the signed agreements and publicise the new agreement to people and the business community so that everyone can prepare for the TPP period.

Reporter: CIEM believes that it is institutional reform which must be the most important motivation. What do you think about TPP pressure on the issue?

Khanh: TPP sets up very high requirements on transparency, anti-corruption and creating favourable conditions for businesses’ operations. This will be hard pressure which will force state management agencies to change their viewpoints. Their management work must be based on people’s and enterprises’ benefits.

Reporter: Could you please talk about the role of the Vietnamese delegation in the negotiations and how Vietnam contributed to help end the TPP talks?

Khanh: We made great efforts together with the other TPP members to settle multilateral issues, and therefore, helped wrap up the talks. This was our great contribution to the agreement. Here I would like to emphasize the role of minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang.

In Atlanta, Hoang had a lot of meetings with some other trade ministers, including the Mexican minister and the US Ambassador Froman. At the meetings, Hoang and his counterparts discussed to reach agreements on basic principles. And we later negotiated on the basis of the principles.

Reporter: When will the TPP be officially signed?

We hope TPP would be officially signed in December or early January 2016.