Trade ministers from Pacific Rim countries are continuing secret talks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact at a luxury hotel in Hawaii. The talks are the first since Congress granted President Obama fast-track authority to push the deal through Congress on an up-or-down vote with no amendments. Japanese Trade Minister Akira Amari cited progress in the talks.

Akira Amari: “All things considered, with the 12 nations involved, we’re working toward a completed result by the upcoming deadline.”

Leaked drafts show a provision of the TPP would allow foreign corporations to sue countries in special tribunals over laws they say could hurt their future profits. This comes as a Canadian gold-mine developer has filed a request for arbitration with a similar tribunal, the World Bank’s International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes, after protests in Romania stalled efforts to build Europe’s largest open-pit gold mine.