thorny

UG先生と同じTPPに関する記事です。米国とのTPP交渉が難航しております。記事の中に出てくる”thorny”は「とげ」という意味でおなじみだと思いますが，Wisdom英和辞典（第三版）』（三省堂）を見ると他にも「困難な，やっかいな（問題・争点）」などという意味がありました。困難な状況を「いばらの道」とも表現するので同じようなニュアンスだとおもいました。（Ume）
“Market access is in some respects the heart and soul of any trade agreement so until that’s done, we don’t have an agreement,” New Zealand Trade Minister Tim Groser told a news conference after the talks.

The U.S.-backed deal aims to cut tariffs and set common standards on other trade issues across a dozen countries that cover almost 40% of the global economy.

Long-running differences on tariffs on imported goods, particularly between the United States and Japan, are proving difficult to overcome.

Two sets of meetings between the Japanese and U.S. delegations during the talks produced no breakthrough.

Stickng points over intellectual property and the rules for state-owned enterprises and government procurement are also proving thorny

http://www.japantoday.com/category/politics/view/no-deal-in-sight-yet-for-tpp-talks