The United States and 11 other economies negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement will continue to try and resolve outstanding issues, including intellectual property rights and liberalization of dairy product and auto tariffs, which they could not solve even after intense discussions at the ministerial level in Hawaii late last month.

Just one month ago, US President Barack Obama moved one step closer to finalizing the TPP after signing into law a bill on June 29 that gave him "fast-track" power to push ahead the Pacific Rim trade deal. Although US Secretary of State John Kerry insisted on Tuesday that all the TPP negotiators are "nearing completion" of a landmark agreement, it is too early to say what the future holds for the free-trade pact among the 12 economies that together account for about 40 percent of the world economy.

The biggest challenge for the parties negotiating the TPP remains the conflict over sharing of dividends, which suggests the agreement may be too "advanced" for some of the economies that have to radically change their trade policies. Japan, for example, is reluctant to allow more rice imports from the US, yet it hopes to increase the exports of Japanese cars to the US. The TPP also requires less developed economies like Vietnam to follow higher labor and environment standards.