The sticking points between Japan and the U.S. regarding the TPP
It's fairly easy to dominate small countries with small economies like Malaysia which has an economy the size of Maryland's, but Japan (and to a lesser degree Canada) are the real roadblocks in finalizing the TPP, which is close to finished.
The following is from an editorial in The Japan Times (info about the JT here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Japan_Times
<snip>
Japan, which joined the TPP talks in 2013, wants to maintain high tariffs on five categories of agricultural products — rice, wheat, beef and pork, dairy products and farm products used to produce sugar — to protect domestic growers. Among these, rice is the biggest issue. While maintaining a prohibitively high tariff on rice imports, Japan annually buys some 770,000 tons from abroad free of tariffs to provide minimum access to the domestic market in accordance with an agreement under the World Trade Organization. Of that amount, 360,000 tons came from the U.S. in fiscal 2013.
It has been reported that during bilateral talks, the U.S. demanded that Japan import an additional 175,000 tons of rice from the U.S. for staple food usage and another 40,000 tons for use in processed food.
<snip>
Financial factors also must be taken into account. The purchase of rice as government reserves — to be sold later at a cheaper price — costs taxpayers ¥2.5 billion per 10,000 tons annually. Increasing the annual purchase of reserve rice — which was 250,000 tons in 2014 — to import more from the U.S. means an additional drain on the government’s finances. The Abe administration needs to carefully consider what degree of financial burden would be acceptable to protect farmers. Such a burden also needs to be weighed against the potential gains for Japan in other areas of the TPP talks.
Automotive parts are a trade area in which Japan stands to gain through the TPP. Last year, Japan exported more than ¥1 trillion of car parts to the U.S., and the nation would gain a lot if the U.S.’ tariffs on those parts are to be eliminated. But while Japan has already removed import tariffs on U.S. automotive parts, the U.S. maintains a 2.5 percent tariff on imports from Japan — reflecting the powerful lobbying from the local auto industry. The government needs to make all-out efforts to get the U.S. to correct this imbalance as quickly as possible.
<snip>
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2015/05/13/editorials/need-haste-tpp-deal/#.VVNRafBChOx