Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks during a news conference with U.S. President Donald Trump at Akasaka Palace in Tokyo, Japan, November 6, 2017.
Japan said ministers of countries remaining in the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal had agreed in principle on Thursday on a way to proceed after the withdrawal of the United States left its survival in doubt.
Talks on the TPP, ditched by U.S. President Donald Trump in one of his first acts in office, have been held on the sidelines of Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings in the Vietnamese resort of Danang.
Clear agreement on proceeding without the United States would be a boost for the principle of multilateral free trade pacts over the bilateral deal-making that Trump favors, but some countries have appeared reluctant to hurry.
Asked by reporters about the results of a meeting of TPP ministers, Japanese Economy Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said “(they) agree in principle”, adding that the ministers had finalized “a list of suspensions” — clauses that would be suspended to avoid renegotiating the whole agreement.
While his Mexican counterpart, Ildefonso Guajardo, also said that a deal had been reached and Australian trade minister Steven Ciobo said the meeting was “very good”, other countries made no comment.
The TPP aims to eliminate tariffs on industrial and farm products across a bloc whose trade totaled $356 billion last year. It also has provisions for protecting everything from labor rights to the environment to intellectual property — one of the main sticking points.
