US chamber sees Pacific trade pact ready in 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce says he is hopeful a major trans-Pacific trade pact will be completed in 2013, but not this year as originally planned.

Chamber president, Thomas Donohue, was speaking Friday to The Associated Press ahead of a trip to East Asia, where he will be urging Japan to be willing to open its markets and join the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

The United States and eight other Pacific Rim nations are negotiating one of the most ambitious trade pacts in decades, a key plank of U.S. efforts to boost its exports into Asia.

Canada and Mexico are due to enter the negotiations later this year. Japan has expressed interest in joining, but it's unclear if its government has sufficient domestic support for the move.

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