Australia, Japan to sign trade deal

New version TPP to leave door open for US: Turnbull

Australia and Japan are committed to signing an Asia Pacific trade deal by March with countries in the region ready to forge a pact to replace the derailed Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said on Thursday

“Prime Minister [Shinzo] Abe and I are personally committed to having this deal signed and sealed by March,” Turnbull said in a speech in Tokyo.

Eleven countries met at an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Vietnam last November to keep alive a Trans Pacific trade deal after US President Donald Trump in early 2017 announced that the US was withdrawing in the name of protecting US jobs.

Without the US, the remaining countries only represent 13.5 percent of the global economy, but they have been scrambling to avoid the deal’s collapse, especially given the increasingly protectionist winds sweeping through the US and Europe.

Ministers from the 11 countries including Japan, Australia and Canada agreed on core elements to move ahead without the US, but demands by countries including Canada for measures to ensure the deal protects jobs, remain a sticking point.

“Our strong preference is for all 11 countries to join the first wave but our focus is on bringing a new TPP agreement into force as soon as possible with those who are ready to move,” Turnbull said.

Japan, the world’s third largest economy, has been particularly active in pushing for a swift consensus on TPP, fearful that delays could lead to the collapse of the pact after years of negotiations.

Negotiators will meet in Tokyo next week in the hope of smoothing out obstacles to an agreement, now known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

The agreement will leave a door open for eventual US participation, Turnbull added. “We are consciously setting it up to enable and encourage the US to dock in should it choose to do so in the future,” he said.