TPP Nations Agree To Continue Without US

by Mary Swire, Tax-News.com, Hong Kong

22 May 2017

The remaining eleven signatories to the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) pact have agreed to seek an accord without the United States.

Member nations Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Malaysia, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam met in Hanoi over the weekend to discuss how to proceed following the United States' withdrawal.

The countries said that the US would be welcome to return to the negotiations. But US trade representative Robert Lighthizer said that this was not an option, adding that the country would prefer to seek bilateral trade deals with jurisdictions in the region.

New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English said last week during a visit to Japan that he hoped that a replacement deal would be agreed by the first half of 2018.

The TPP countries last met in Chile in March 2017. Another meeting is planned for November 2017.

Once the agreement is ratified and brought into force in the signatory countries, it will eliminate most tariffs on industrial goods immediately, with tariffs on some sensitive items phased out over longer timeframes.

TPP members have also agreed to eliminate tariffs on textiles and apparel, which are economic growth drivers in several TPP markets. The countries have yet to agree how to take forward the deal however.

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