Countries involved in negotiations for an ambitious Pacific free trade agreement began talks in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City on Monday, aiming to strike a deal in time for a ministerial meeting set to be held in Singapore on May 19-20.

Over the next four days, the chief negotiators from the 12 Trans-Pacific Partnership member nations will focus on resolving tough remaining issues such as tariffs, especially in areas such as politically sensitive agricultural goods, intellectual property and reform of state-owned companies.

An official involved in the negotiations said Monday’s meeting will focus on assessing how much progress has been made between Japan and the United States to resolve thorny trade issues between them.

… Deborah Elms, head of the Temasek Foundation Center for Trade and Negotiations in Singapore, who specializes on the TPP, told Kyodo News last week, “I think they are close enough that they can reach an agreement, assuming that the U.S.-Japan part is now resolved.”

Elms said the TPP countries hope “to announce an in-principle agreement in Singapore, essentially that most of the agreement is done.”