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Without the US, 11 Asia-Pacific nations sign trade deal

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Santiago: Eleven nations signed a slimmed-down version of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement, moving to lower tariffs just as US President Donald Trump seeks to raise them after withdrawing from the deal.


The TPP, which would have represented 40 per cent 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.


“This is a significant political message from the Asia-Pacific region to the rest of the world,” said Chilean Foreign Minister Heraldo Munoz, with Chile’s President Michelle Bachelet at his side.


The pact includes Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam, representing together 13.5 per cent of the global economy.


The 11 states form a market of 500 million people, greater than that of the European Union.


The deal comes in the same week that Trump has risked a global trade war over his decision to introduce tariffs on imported steel and aluminium.


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 labour 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. — AFP


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