11 Asia-Pacific states sign trade deal
SANTIAGO — Eleven nations signed a slimmeddown version of the TransPacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement yesterday, moving to lower tariffs just as US President Donald Trump raised them after withdrawing from the deal.
The TPP, which would have represented 40 percent of the global economy and nearly one-quarter of its trade, was left for dead after Trump pulled out to pursue his "America First" agenda.
But the revamped deal, now known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), is still a significant achievement and a victory for openness, its supporters said at the signing ceremony in Santiago, Chile.
"We are proud to have completed this process, sending a strong message to the international community that opening markets, economic integration and international cooperation are the best tools to create economic opportunity and prosperity," said Chilean President Michelle Bachelet.
The pact includes Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam, representing together 13.5 percent of the global economy.
The 11 states form a market of 500 million people, greater than that of the European Union.
The deal was signed just before Trump slapped steep tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, setting up what many allies both at home and abroad warn could escalate into a global trade war.
Former president Barack Obama's administration pushed for the TPP as a counterweight to growing Chinese commercial power. It not only cut tariffs but required members to comply with a high level of regulatory standards in areas like labor law and environmental protection.
Fernando Estenssoro, of Chile's University of Santiago, says snubbing the pact is "a type of suicide" for the United States.
Washington's absence leaves an open path for China — which remains excluded from the deal — as it negotiates separately with Asian countries and New Zealand.
The CPTPP aims to slash tariffs among the 11 members and foster trade to boost growth.
"We're very proud... to show the world that progressive trade is the way forward," said Canadian Trade Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne as officials gathered for the signing ceremony.
Felipe Lopeandia, Chile's top trade negotiator, said the deal will "send a political signal to the world and to the United States itself, that this is a global agreement."
It is one which remains hugely significant, said Ignacio Bartesaghi of the Catholic University of Uruguay's business school.