Ministers representing 16 Asia-Pacific countries called for “further improvements” in negotiating a sweeping trade accord, while outlining some advances in talks on the framework of rules for the planned agreement. The meeting, held in Singapore, comes ahead of a 2018 target for endorsing a “package” of agreed outcomes. The trade accord in question is known as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), and would bring together the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and their six free trade agreement (FTA) partners: Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand. Negotiators have been meeting regularly over the past six years, with ministerial meetings interspersed therein, in a bid to craft such a deal. “The ministers welcomed the intensification of market access negotiations. While appreciating some narrowing of gaps, the ministers emphasised the need for further improvements,” read a joint media statement issued after the 13 October meeting. The 13 October ministers’ meeting was preceded by negotiations related to market access, which were held last week in the Indonesian city of Jakarta. Since the talks’ launch in November, RCEP members have held two dozen negotiating rounds, along with several ministerial-level meetings, aiming to make progress both on...