On July 25, 2013, the office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) issued a press release announcing that the 18 round of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Negotiations (TPP) was concluded, and the inclusion of Japan into the program on July 23.

The release explains that "through the TPP, the United States is seeking to advance a 21st-century trade and investment framework that will boost competitiveness, expand trade and investment with the robust economies of the Asia Pacific, and support the creation and retention of U.S. jobs, while promoting core U.S. principles on labor rights, environmental protection, and transparency."

Aside from Japan's entrance to the TTP, the different negotiating groups reached an agreement on multiple issues, including the following:

• Setting the rules that govern the conduct of trade and investment relations between TTP countries
• Finding common ground on issues that allowed them to make progress in the negotiating groups covering intellectual property, competition, and environment
• Developing a detailed plan for closing remaining issues

The next round of negotiations will be held in Brunei on August 22-30.

The full text of the press release is available online here.