US withdraws from Trans-Pacific Partnership deal

US President Donald Trump signed a decree to withdraw his country from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal on his first official working day in the White House on January 23.

Trump said the TPP, which grouped the US and 11 economic partners in Asia Pacific, will harm manufacturing and production in the US, and deprive US citizens of jobs.

The deal had been discussed since 2009, during the presidency of Barack Obama, but the US Congress never ratified the agreement, and many legislators opposed it, or expressed doubts about its profitability.

TPP negotiations concluded in October 2015. It is waiting for approval of member nations’ parliaments. Many TPP member countries are considering signing the deal without the involvement of the US.

If the original agreement, including the US, had come into force it would have been the largest regional trade agreement in history, covering 40 percent of the world economy.

The 11 TPP members are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam.

VNA

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