Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday said the Trans-Pacific trade deal would be meaningless without the participation of the United States, hours after the country’s President-elect Donald Trump announced that he would withdraw from the deal on his first day in office, Reuters reported.
Trans-Pacific leaders met in Peru on Saturday to discuss the deal, which aims to deepen economic relations, cut down on tariffs, and encourage trade between the US, Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Brunei, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, Chile and Peru. US Trade Representative Michael Froman had said that if scrapped, the deal that covers 40% of the international economy, would translate to “serious” economic costs.
During his election campaign, Trump had promised to pull out from the 12-nation agreement, which had been backed by US President Barack Obama, and referred to it as a “job-killing disaster” for the United States. The pact still needs the approval from the Republican-dominated Congress, AFP reported.
Earlier this year, Obama had said the deal “puts American workers first”.
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