Ministers and chief negotiators are meeting this week in Atlanta in a final effort to strike a deal on a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement. For the Harper government, and indeed for all the major political parties in Canada, the timing of this meeting in the middle of the federal election campaign poses huge challenges. The marathon trade negotiations among 12 Asia-Pacific countries include three of Canada's largest trade partners - the United States, Japan and Mexico. And make no mistake about it, this deal is probably coming to a conclusion in the next week or two - with or without Canada. Written by John Weekes and published in the Globe and Mail.