Federated Farmers president Bruce Wills is dismissing suggestions the United States president's absence from the latest Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade negotiations could torpedo an agreement.
New Zealand Prime Minister John Key is chairing a meeting of leaders involved in the TPP talks on Tuesday, at the the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation summit, in Bali.
Critics of the trade proposal say President Obama's absence from the talks as he deals with the US government shutdown could scuttle negotiations.
But Bruce Wills, who's just returned from a World Trade Organisation (WTO) summit, says the talk at the WTO in Geneva is when the TPP will happen, not if.
He says the WTO Doha Round has definitely taken a back seat to the Trans Pacific negotiations.
