Trade ministers from 12 Pacific Rim nations negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement posed for a group photo at a meeting in Lahaina, Hawaii on Thursday, July 30, 2015. From left, Singapore’s Minister for Trade and Industry Hng Kiang Lim, Peru’s Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism Magali Silva, New Zealand’s Minister of Trade Tim Groser, Mexico’s Secretary of the Economy Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal, Malaysia’s Minister of International Trade and Industry Mustapa Mohamed, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman, Japan’s Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Akira Amari, Chile’s Director General of International Relations Andres Rebolledo, Canada’s Minister of International Trade Ed Fast, Brunei’s Second Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Lim Jock Seng and Australia’s Minister for Trade and Investment Andrew Robb. (AP Photo/Audrey McAvoy)
Trade ministers from 12 Pacific Rim nations meeting in Hawaii took time out from their talks for a new trade agreement to pose for a photo.
They have been discussing the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, which advocates say would lower tariffs and other trade barriers while also setting labor and environmental standards for its participants.
The 12 nations negotiating the pact are the United States, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
The ministers are scheduled to continue their talks on Maui through Friday.