6 October 2015 - Washington, DC: After eight years of negotiations, 12 Pacific-rim nations - including Australia - have agreed upon the largest free-trade agreement in history during a last-minute round of talks in Atlanta, Georgia.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which covers 40 per cent of the global economy, will strip thousands of trade tariffs in the region and set common labour, environmental and legal standards among signatories.

Negotiations, which had been expected to end before or at the weekend continued until 5 am on Monday morning, with representatives of Australia and the United States seeking a compromise over patent protection for pharmaceuticals until dawn.

Australia had led a group of nations objecting to the US position of allowing pharmaceutical companies keeping data for biologics, advanced medicines made from living organisms, secret for 12 years.

During that period, companies can block the manufacture generic versions of their drugs by competitors and set prices as high as the market will bear.

For more details, go to: http://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/tpp-deal-pacific-countries-agree-to-historic-trade-pact-20151005-gk1vq2.html