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By Ian Bremmer , Time Aug 11, 2015

The major trade deal should still pass, but there are significant sticking points left

The latest round of Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations ended in Maui last week without an agreement. When all is said and done, the massive, 12-nation trade deal will link 40% of the world’s economy. The potential payoffs are expected to be huge for the countries at the table, but the geopolitics of such a complicated treaty are tricky. Still, while the deal will pass in the end, these five facts explain the last major hurdles to the most significant trade deal of the 21^st century.

1. Pharmaceutical Fight

According to the pharmaceutical companies, development of a new drug typically takes 10 to 15 years. Each success costs around $1.2 billion—including the price of the many failures along the way. A period of exclusivity in the form of patents are the reward for this investment. At issue in TPP negotiations is when cheaper generic forms of new drugs can come to market, or when that exclusivity ends. In the U.S., that timeframe is about 12 years, but most countries involved in negotiations want it to be shorter—eight years or less, though Australia is insisting on five. It makes sense that the U.S. wants the longest period of exclusivity; of the ten largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, six are based in the US. The other four? In Europe, which is not a party to this deal.

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