TOKYO -- Some of the 12 nations negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership are looking at the possibility of holding another round of ministerial talks on the free trade pact at the end of this month, but the necessary consensus seems to be lacking.

"We are committed to completing the negotiations," Caroline Atkinson, U.S. President Barack Obama's deputy national security adviser for international economics, said Wednesday. "We expect that will happen in the next several weeks."

Officials from the U.S., Japan and other countries met in Washington to resume talks on rules for automotive tariffs within the TPP. The main issue on the agenda is how much of a vehicle's parts need to be made within the bloc to allow it to qualify for reduced tariffs. Japan wants the ratio to be low, while Mexico is the leading voice calling for a high percentage.

Japan, the U.S. and other countries at the negotiating table hope to make progress on this and other unresolved issues ahead of a ministerial meeting. With Canada holding a parliamentary election on Oct. 19, that month is all but out for substantive negotiations on the TPP. Japan, the U.S., Canada and other countries see late September as a better time for cabinet-level talks.

But Australia seems in no hurry to move ahead.

"We've got time to arrive at a reasonable conclusion on this," Kim Beazley, Australia's ambassador to the U.S., said Wednesday.

Many have regarded this year as the deadline for congressional approval of a TPP deal, given next year's U.S. presidential election. But Beazley said there is no possibility of that now. Meanwhile, Australia and the U.S. are at odds over the protection period for drug development data, a particularly contentious issue in the TPP talks. There is insufficient consensus for holding a ministerial meeting at this point, sources from a different TPP country say.

(Nikkei)