The Trans-Pacific Partnership “has no meaning” without the US, Shinzo Abe said, as fellow members of the trade deal reacted with concern and frustration to Monday’s vow of US withdrawal by president-elect Donald Trump.
The Japanese prime minister’s comments pour cold water on proposals for the other eleven members of TPP to go ahead without the US, leaving the field clear for China to forge an alternative trade pact in the Asia-Pacific region.
But comments by Mr Abe and fellow leaders such as Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull suggest they have not yet given up on TPP, either viewing Mr Trump’s move as a negotiating ploy or hoping he will come around with time.